A state appeals court panel has upheld the convictions of two men for the murder six years ago of a Hong Kong man who was shot when he stopped to have lunch in West Covina, but ordered the case to be sent back for re-sentencing.
The three-justice panel from California’s 2nd District Court of Appeal agreed with the defense’s contention that there was insufficient evidence to support the special circumstance allegation of murder during the commission of a robbery, which resulted in Michael Quiroga Castiblanco and Juan Alejandro Cortez being sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Castiblanco and Cortez were convicted of one count each of first-degree murder and second-degree robbery for the Feb. 1, 2013, shooting death of 29-year-old Sheron Khemlani, who was attacked by a group of men after traveling with his brother to the Jewelry District in downtown Los Angeles and then stopping in West Covina to have lunch before traveling to Las Vegas.
The defendants were part of an organized criminal group that targeted jewelers and individuals who made large cash withdrawals from banks, according to evidence presented at their trial.
The group followed the two brothers from downtown Los Angeles to West Covina with the intent to rob them, prosecutors said after Castiblanco and Cortez were convicted.
In its 44-page ruling released Thursday, the appellate court panel found there was “insufficient evidence that either defendant acted with reckless indifference to human life.” The justices noted that three men were seen approaching the car containing the victim and his brother and that the prosecution had not argued to jurors that either Castiblanco or Cortez was the actual killer.
Castiblanco and Cortez were identified and charged about a year after the heist, according to the District Attorney’s Office.