Defense continues
The defense for an alleged murderer and confirmed gang member began to call witnesses Wednesday in Madera Superior Court, with closing statements expected soon in the case.
Esteven Rodriguez, 23, is accused of murdering 18-year-old Drakkar Lewis, not a gang member, during an illegal party two years ago as an act of Rodriguez’s revenge to benefit his gang.
On April 21, 2013, Lewis attended the party — dubbed a “Fusiion party” and based on a group of teenage girls organizing such events through social media — with a number of friends at a home near Avenue 18 1/2 and Road 21.
About a month before, Lewis allowed the “Fusiion girls,” many under 18, to throw such a party at the house where he lived with his grandfather. At that gathering, one of Rodriguez’s friends and fellow gang member, Eleazar Iruegas, 19, was killed by Antonio Michael Ybarra and Jose Pulido-Perez, two members of a rival gang...