Former Lovers Get Life in Prison for Murdering Two Teens in 2010

Two former lovers were sentenced Thursday to life in prison for their convictions for two counts of first-degree murder and other charges for the execution-style fatal shooting of two 18-year-old boys in Hayward five years ago.

Tiara Arnold, 22, and Isaiah Washington, 25, who are from Oakland, were convicted on March 17 for the shooting deaths of Rafael Avila and Carlos Buenrostro, both of Hayward, in the 21600 block of Westpark Street at about 1 a.m. on May 9, 2010.

They initially were scheduled to be sentenced on May 4 but their sentencings were postponed several times until their terms finally were imposed by Alameda County Superior Court Judge Kevin Murphy today. In addition to murder, Arnold and Washington were convicted of attempted murder for shots that were fired at a then-16-year-old girl who was with them at the time of the shooting and of the special circumstances of committing multiple murders and committing murders during the course of a robbery.

Prosecutor Jimmie Wilson told jurors in his closing argument that he believes the evidence in the case showed that Arnold fired the 21 shots from an AK-47 assault rifle that killed Avila and Buentrostro but Washington was equally guilty because he planned to rob the two 18-year-olds, who he said were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Wilson said he believes Washington ordered Arnold to kill the 18-year-olds as well as the then 16-year-old girl who was with them, Jocelyn Medellin, so there wouldn’t be any witnesses to any of their crimes. Wilson said Avila and Buenrostro were lying face down when they were shot and Medellin, who survived the attempt on her life, testified that the gunfire was so forceful that their bodies bounced off the concrete.

Wilson said Arnold and Washington were in love with each other and Washington was telling her what to do and she complied. Washington was 21 years old at the time of the incident and Arnold was only 17 but was prosecuted as an adult. The defense attorneys for Arnold and Washington said the former lovers should be found not guilty, but Arnold’s attorney blamed Washington for the fatal shooting and Washington’s attorney blamed Arnold. Washington’s attorney, William Linehan, admitted that Washington “is no angel” and has a previous conviction for robbery but said Washington didn’t intend for Avila and Buenrostro to be killed, alleging that Arnold acted on her own when she shot the two youths.

Linehan said Washington hid his face when a car drove by the shooting scene because “he just saw the person he loved brutally kill two men.” But, Arnold’s attorney, Eliott Silver, said if Arnold actually fired the shots that killed the two victims it was only because she was under duress since Washington was carrying the assault rifle and was ordering her around.

Silver said Arnold’s actions were “reasonable” because “nobody is going to fight with a man who has an AK-47 in his hand.” Silver also said he thought there was reasonable doubt about whether Arnold fired the shots that killed the two victims because he believed Medellin’s testimony was unreliable.

According to the attorneys in the case, Washington and Arnold were lovers at the time of the shooting but have since broken up. Murphy sentenced Washington to two consecutive terms of life in prison without the possibility of parole and Arnold to 95 years to life.

By Bay City News

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