A man convicted in the gang stabbing death of Alberto Diaz Jr. near a Santa Maria hotel several years ago lost an appeal to overturn his convictions of second degree murder and dissuading a witness.
In his appeal to California’s 2nd Appellate Court, Christopher Michael Brewer contended that the gang-affiliation questions asked of him during the booking process shortly after the killing were inadmissible in court. He also said he believes his right to a fair trial was violated because of what he called hearsay testimony about his gang affiliations.
However, the appeals court rejected that argument on Nov. 5, saying that there was plenty of evidence in the past to prove Brewer’s gang connections.
Brewer was convicted of killing Diaz by stabbing him in the neck in the parking lot of the Santa Maria Budget Inn Hotel on Dec. 9, 2011.
According to court documents, Diaz was in trouble with the Surenos street gang and the gang gave a “green light,” or permission, to have him killed.
At the trial, Brewer denied being a part of any gang. However, Santa Maria Police Department detective Michael Parker testified otherwise.
Parker said Brewer was a part of the “Guada” and Sureno street gangs, referring in part to an incident where Brewer wrote gang graffiti on a school wall and multiple past admissions on Brewer’s part, including one in a 2009 probation report admitting he was affiliated with gangs, according to court documents.
The judges on the court wrote that the jury would have reached the same conclusion without the booking interview.
Brewer, 24, is currently serving a sentence of 24 years to life at Calipatria State Prison.
This article appears in Nov 12-19, 2015.