Jury Convicts Moreno Valley Gang Member of Killing Rival

MORENO VALLEY, CA - A Moreno Valley gang member who fatally shot a rival in the back and tried to kill the victim's friend was convicted Monday of second- degree murder and other charges.

Following two days of deliberations, a Riverside jury found 25-year-old Andre Trevone Harris guilty of the 2014 slaying of 20-year-old Christen White of Moreno Valley.

In addition to the murder count, jurors convicted Harris of attempted murder, as well as sentence-enhancing gang, gun and great bodily injury allegations.

Riverside County Superior Court Judge Bernard Schwartz scheduled a sentencing hearing for Aug. 4 at the Riverside Hall of Justice. Harris is facing 40 years to life in state prison.

According to prosecutors, Harris is a member of the Wild Flax Edgemont Crips and shot the victims to avenge the death of a fellow member of that gang, 19-year-old Jesse Mosley, who was gunned down at a Rancho Cucamonga party in November 2011.

A trial brief filed by Deputy District Attorney Elan Zekster stated that Mosley was targeted by members of one of Moreno Valley's largest gangs -- Sex Cash -- with which Wild Flax had long been at odds.

On the night of Aug. 2, 2014, Harris and two other men, whose names remain unknown, drove to an apartment complex in the 12300 block of Graham Street, where White, his friend Marcus Lawton and a half-dozen of their associates were smoking and conversing on a stairwell outside one of the units, according to the brief.

Harris and his two cohorts emerged from a four-door Toyota about 1:20 a.m. and approached the Sex Cash members, using an insider term in greeting the other men, apparently to conceal the fact they were rivals, according to the prosecution.

"Immediately after the statement, two of the three men pulled out guns and began shooting at the group as they fled back into the apartment," Zekster said.

"Lawton was shot in the shoulder, and Christen White was shot through his lungs and into his heart. The three (attackers) ran back to the car and quickly fled."

Lawton and White were taken to Riverside County Regional Medical Center, where White died minutes later and Lawton was treated for his wound.

Sheriff's investigators found evidence left behind at the scene, including a pair of keys with a CVS card attached, later linked to Harris, Zekster alleged.

Harris eluded capture for more than a month before being arrested for a minor offense and ultimately taken into custody and charged in connection with White's murder.

According to court records, Harris has prior convictions for grand theft and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.

— By City News Service / Image via Shutterstock