By Ruby Zupien
The murder trial reconvened with various testimonies in the case of the People v. Lance Ornellas-Castro.The defendant is accused of the murder of Andrew Phaouthoum in December of 2015, and his co-defendant, Jorge Garcia, has accepted a plea agreement and has provided testimony.
The defense called five individuals to the stand. Three of them described Mr. Ornellas-Castro as an outgoing, friendly person who was proud to enlist in the military but, after a tour in Afghanistan, returned a different man.
Deputy Public Defender Dan Hutchinson continued to question Mr. Ornellas-Castro’s ex-wife, “FF,” on the defendant’s drinking habits before and after he was deployed. She claimed he drank before, but “he drank a lot more” after his service in the Marines. However, she claimed never to have seen Ornellas-Castro smoke marijuana or do drugs, such as methamphetamine.
Mr. Hutchinson then asked the witness about Ornellas-Castro’s son. He asked the witness what the defendant’s son’s name is. She answered, “J.” When Mr. Hutchinson asked her when and where she had her baby, she began to cry. “Did Lance come see you at the hospital?” asked Mr. Hutchinson. She quietly answered, “Yes.”
The defense then called “WB” to the stand. WB lived in South Sacramento with his roommate. He was asked to describe the relationship he had with a young woman named “RB.” WB said she was his brother’s ex-girlfriend’s daughter and she calls him “Uncle” or “Tio.” However, there is no actual familial relationship between WB and RB.
Mr. Hutchinson continued to ask, “ How did you know Jorge Garcia?”
WB explained that he only knew Mr. Garcia through RB, and Jorge would not go to his house without RB.
The last instance RB and Mr. Garcia showed up at WB’s home was shortly after another individual showed up. Mr. Hutchinson asked WB if he could remember the name of this individual.
“I believe his name was Andrew,” answered WB.
Mr. Hutchinson then asked WB if he was concerned that the person named Andrew had gone missing.
“At first, I didn’t really know what was going on. So I wasn’t really concerned.” WB said it was not until Mr. Garcia was not returning his calls that he began to worry.
WB was shown Defense’s Exhibit 339, a document containing text messages from him to RB’s phone. These texts included frightening messages such as: “IF this guy doesn’t text back it’s going to get real ugly real fast,” and “I got 20 mother f—-ers hitting me up on this s—.”
When Mr. Hutchinson attempted to ask questions regarding these texts and whether or not WB felt RB was in danger, WB grew irritated. WB claimed, “You’re misinterpreting,” and “You’re trying to twist my way of thinking…I don’t want to be in the middle of it, and I don’t want to be here.” He explained that he had previously been in a gang and felt there would be some sort of retaliation for the death of Andrew Phaouthoum.
WB finally claimed that he was lying in these texts as a fear tactic to get RB to respond. When Mr. Hutchinson asked why he would lie, WB said, “My main objective was to find Jorge. I felt pressured.” Mr. Hutchinson continued to question why WB would lie to RB.
“I wanted to do whatever I could to find where their son was,” said WB as he looked in the direction of the victim’s family sitting in the courtroom.
At this point, WB’s voice had escalated to a higher tone. Mr. Hutchinson asked him if he wanted to be in the situation he was in, in the courtroom, testifying. WB reiterated his precious comment, answering, “No!” He was upset that he had to be taken away from work but he wanted to do whatever he could for the victim’s family. He then went on to express his dislike for the public defender’s office, calling them “Public Pretenders.”
Cross-examination on behalf of the People was conducted by Assistant Chief Deputy District Attorney Melinda Aiello. She returned to the last day RB showed up to WB’s home. She asked if he had “hooked them up with some weed.” WB affirmed and chuckled, as he explained that they were interested in more than he had given them.
Mr. Hutchinson’s final question, on re-direct, returned to the fact that WB was previously in a gang, and he asked whether or not it was these prior experiences which led WB to believe Asian gangs should not be messed with. WB affirmed.
The People then returned for re-cross to ask, “Based on previous experiences, should gang members mess with any other gang members?” WB laughed as he answered, “Absolutely not.”
The defense then called “GM” to the stand. GM is Mr. Ornella-Castro’s aunt who has lived in Stockton, CA for about 24 years. She is the sister to Mr. Ornellas-Castro’s father, “RC.” GM explained that although her brother was not a part of Mr. Ornellas-Castro’s life, she wanted to make sure she was a part of it. As the defendant was growing up, she would pick him up from Fairfield once a month and take him to her home in Stockton where he would stay for the weekend with her, her husband and their three daughters. They would go out to dinner, have movie nights, and BBQ.
Mr. Hutchinson asked GM about Mr. Ornellas-Castro’s demeanor growing up.
“Outgoing? Social? asked Mr. Hutchinson.
“Yes, very,” answered GM.
GM then said that at some point Mr. Ornellas-Castro moved in with her and her family because her husband wanted him to stay with them. She immediately enrolled him in high school, only to find out he was behind in credits. She then found a homeschooling program that put him back on track for graduation.
The following line of questioning was in regard to Francis, Mr. Ornellas Castro’s ex-wife, “F.” GM stated that she had met her before Lance did because they lived on the same street. Mr. Hutchinson then asked her to describe Mr. Ornellas-Castro’s demeanor and personality with F.
GM simply said, “He was happy.”
Regarding the discussion to join the military, GM said Mr. Ornellas-Castro was excited about being a Marine, and before he left for Afghanistan there was no change in his demeanor.
Mr. Hutchinson attempted to ask GM why she had a conversation with her nephew over his decision to become a Marine combat engineer. However, the People objected and Mr. Hutchinson asked what GM had expressed to her nephew.
“It was very dangerous,” said GM.
“How did he respond? asked Mr. Hutchinson.
GM began to cry as she stated, “He said he’d be ok.”
Mr. Hutchinson asked GM if there was any change in Mr. Ornellas-Castro’s personality after Afghanistan. GM claimed Mr. Ornellas-Castro was distant. When requested to elaborate she said, “He wasn’t social.” She also went on to mention that it did not seem like he was participating in the conversation, he was quiet. Moreover, he would rarely visit.
Ms. Aiello, on cross, went further into this answer and asked GM when exactly she would see Mr. Ornellas-Castro. GM said it was mainly birthdays. Ms. Aiello then asked if GM knew of Mr. Ornellas-Castro drinking or using drugs once he had returned from Afghanistan. GM said Mr. Ornellas-Castro did drink, but answered no to the question about drugs.
“Did you tell the person who took your statement [from the Public Defender’s Office] that you could not comment on changes to [Lance Ornellas-Castro’s] personality, demeanor, or character?” asked Ms. Aiello.
“That’s not true,” declared GM.
“JM” was the next witness called to the stand. JM is GM’s husband and uncle to the defendant. In his testimony, he affirmed the claim that the defendant’s father was not in the defendant’s life growing up. Additionally, he reaffirmed the claim that the family would pick up the young Ornellas-Castro and take him out to “Chuck-E-Cheese, the park, and just hang out.”
When asked about Mr. Ornellas-Castro’s demeanor growing up, JM said, “He was always happy.”
Mr. Hutchinson asked why Ornellas-Castro ended up moving in with his aunt and uncle’s family. “I didn’t like the situation he was in, and I just told him to come live with us,” said JM.
JM went on to explain that Mr. Ornellas-Castro had expressed his interest to join the military as soon as he graduated high school. This made JM very proud and he reminded his nephew that it was ultimately his choice. JM described Ornellas-Castro as “a little more distant” when he returned from Afghanistan. When it came to family gatherings, Mr. Mata said Ornellas-Castro now always came up with an excuse not to attend.
Mr. Hutchison asked JM about Mr. Ornellas-Castro’s drinking habits when he returned from Afghanistan. JM described Mr. Ornellas-Castro as different and unhappy. He claimed his nephew did not drink a lot, but when he did, he was different.
Ms. Aiello cross-examined the witness in order to clarify that, after Mr. Ornellas-Castro had returned from Afghanistan, they did not see each other as often. Additionally, she asked him if he was aware of Ornellas-Castro doing any drugs. JM stated, “I don’t know if he did or not.”
The defense next called Juan Ceron to the stand. Mr. Ceron is an investigator for the Yolo County Public Defender’s office. His job consists of interviewing witnesses and victims and taking the information back to the attorneys. In May of 2016, Mr. Ceron was assigned this case and began working on it as early as June. He has spoken to approximately 18 witnesses and potential witnesses.
Mr. Ceron described the difficulty and complications that arose in attempting to subpoena WB due to his address change. However, once he did manage to get in contact with WB, they spoke about Asian gangs, and that due to WB’s previous experiences associated with gangs he knows not to mess with them.
Mr. Hutchinson and Mr. Ceron jointly worked to compile a list of songs that Mr. Ceron previously found in his investigations. These songs all contained the word “mobbin” somewhere in the title. In total, they named 14 rap and hip-hop songs.
Ms. Aiello, on cross, asked Mr. Ceron if he had recorded any of his 18 interviews with witnesses. To that Mr. Ceron answered no.
“Did you interview GM?” asked Ms. Aiello.
“Yes,” answered Mr. Ceron.
“Did she say she could not comment on [Mr. Ornellas-Castro’s] personality?” continued Ms. Aiello.
“Correct,” said Mr. Ceron.
Aiello then asked Ceron if he had found a song or album by the title of “Always Mobbin.” Mr. Ceron answered no.
The final witness of the day was “PF,” Ornellas-Castro’s ex-mother-in-law. She described the first time she ever saw the defendant. “He was dancing in the street, he was very outgoing.” This statement made Mr. Ornellas-Castro smile.
“When did Lance and FF begin their relationship?” asked Mr. Hutchinson.
PF said it was within a year of Ornellas-Castro moving in down the street from them. “Like I said, he was very outgoing, and she was quiet, and I guess he asked her to be his girlfriend.” Again, Mr. Ornellas-Castro was seen breaking away from his serious countenance.
PF described the defendant as “excited and proud to be a Marine,” when she took him to Manteca to enlist. Moreover, she said he “seemed happy and proud” at his Marine graduation.
Before heading off to Afghanistan, PF met a few of his friends, but she specifically remembered talking to a man by the name of “Joseph Whitehead.” While Mr. Ornellas-Castro was in Afghanistan, PF was informed by her daughter FF that Cpl. Whitehead had passed away.
When Ornellas-Castro returned from Afghanistan, PF said he was quiet and distant. “He would drink a lot. As soon as he came home from school, he’d be drinking. He wasn’t the Lance we knew before.”
PF explained her experience with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) with her father, who is a veteran of the Vietnam war. PF claimed to have encouraged Mr. Ornellas-Castro to get evaluated. “He said, ‘I don’t need it, I don’t need it,’ and walked away,” said PF.
When discussing the passing of the defendant’s friend, Joseph Whitehead, PF quoted Mr. Ornellas-Castro saying, “It should have been me, it should have been me,” and she said he “walked away crying.”
PF testified to going with Lance to purchase his gun. She said he would take it with him everywhere.
“Did he ever talk about why?” asked Mr. Hutchinson
“To protect himself and his family,” answered PF.
Due to PF’s lack of gun knowledge, Ms. Aiello and PF were only able to establish that the gun Mr. Ornellas-Castro purchased was not a revolver. PF stated that Ornellas-Castro bought the gun because the crime in Stockton at the time was terrible.
PF denied having ever been aware of Mr. Ornellas-Castro ever using any drugs after his return from Afghanistan.
