By Kevin Barragan, Michael McCutcheon and Ashton Yuan
RIVERSIDE, CA – The long-awaited trial of Christian Rosales and Manuel Barbarin, Jr., proceeded Monday, with two witnesses testifying in Riverside County Superior Court—while they recounted similar events on the day that took the life of Lareanz Simmons, their testimonies conflicted when asked to describe the shooter.
On Feb. 23, 2012, 14-year-old African American Riverside Poly High School student Simmons was walking home from a friend’s house when a car pulled up beside him and a man stepped out, pulled out a handgun and shot Simmons, firing five to six rounds.
The local community was left shocked and confused that a 14-year-old, non-gang affiliated, ROTC member would be targeted.
While the perpetrators initially escaped police attention, Hispanic gang members Christian Rosales and Manuel Barbarin, Jr., were later identified and arrested in 2015, after Barbarin, Jr., was caught on-tape confessing to the murder while serving a 28-month sentence for a different crime.
District Attorney Kevin Beecham charged Velasquez and Barbarin with first-degree murder, seeking various enhancements, most notably for a hate crime, as Beecham and police argued that Simmons was randomly targeted due to his skin color. The trial was delayed until this year.
During the trial, the prosecution called a witness who was asked what they did that day and the witness stated they were raking leaves when they heard six gunshots being fired down the street from their home.
The witness testified they reported to law enforcement they heard the gunshots being fired, lasting about 10 minutes. The witness recalled they saw from afar the shooter and gave the description of the individual.
They couldn’t see very well but were sure the individual was Hispanic and short, approximately 5’6 in height, and wearing a white baseball cap. The witness compared the suspects’ body sizes and that’s how they were sure the individual was short in size.
Another witness testified to being present at the scene where she saw the shootings instead of hearing them. The witness stated she was with Lareanz on the northern side of their residence and was crossing the street when a vehicle was passing by slowly.
The witness described seeing a silver car moving very slowly on the street on which she and Lareanz were walking, to the point where “someone could get out of the car and walk at the same pace.”
Lareanz was about 15 feet away from the vehicle and was puzzled since the vehicle was acting suspiciously by driving by slowly.
A man—described by the witness to be Hispanic, wearing a black hat, gray hoodie, black gloves, and blue jeans—emerged from the vehicle without it fully stopping. She clarified “the back passenger side of the car is where I saw him get out.” Still being questioned by counsel, the witness confirmed the car was keeping pace with the passenger who exited.
The witness recalled that the man looked back and made eye contact with her before going back to Lareanz. The man acted in a way that “seems like he’s in a bit of a hurry […] to get something done” and slow-jogged to Lareanz.
She added, “[Lareanz] got spooked because he wasn’t really sure what was going on.” She later elaborated and clarified that Lareanz’s “spooked” reaction was more accurately that of being “curious as to what was happening.”
The witness said the male individual stepped out from the back passenger side from the vehicle wearing black gloves, and the witness reported that she saw a “black item in his hand” but was not certain what it was initially, given that the color of the gloves and the object blended together.
The witness said Lareanz’s reaction was to put his hand up and back away. While taking steps back, Lareanz tripped over the curb in front of his house. She said, “As he was falling, the guy kept shooting at Lareanz,” She estimated four to six times.
The shooter did not attempt to make conversation with Lareanz, the witness noted.
The trial is ongoing all this week.
