SAN DIEGO (CNS) — Two young men were awaiting sentencing Monday after being convicted of first-degree murder and attempted robbery in the shooting death of a marijuana delivery driver in the Oak Park neighborhood.
Brayan Morales, 20, and Keven Chinchilla, 18, were found guilty by a San Diego jury last week for their roles in the March 28, 2024, killing of 25- year-old Poway resident Andres Dominguez.
Police found Dominguez shot just before 11 p.m. in a car that crashed into a tree and a fence at Michael and 60th streets. The victim was taken to a hospital, where he died shortly after arrival.
A prosecutor's trial brief alleges Dominguez was shot at Redwood and 60th streets, a few blocks away from where he ultimately crashed his car.
Prosecutors allege that text messages the defendants sent to one another a few hours before the shooting showed they planned to place an order with a delivery service, then rob its driver.
Morales was 18 years old, and Chinchilla was 16 at the time of the shooting.
While jurors convicted the pair of murder, they did not find special circumstance allegations of committing the murder in the commission of a robbery true. If found true, those allegations would have had the pair facing sentences of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Morales and Chinchilla are slated to be sentenced in July.
Another defendant arrested in the case, Alex Espinoza, pleaded guilty to attempted robbery and was sentenced to prison. Prosecutors said he acted as a getaway driver who spirited Morales and Chinchilla away from the shooting scene.
A fourth defendant, Arlene Zaragoza, was also arrested, but charges against her were dismissed at a preliminary hearing held last year.
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