Gang-Related Murder Of Father: Conviction Upheld

REDONDO BEACH, CA – The conviction of a gang-related murder of a father of two was upheld by a state appeals court panel Wednesday. The convicted man shot the victim in the back in Redondo Beach four years ago. The three-justice panel from California's 2nd District Court of Appeal rejected the defense's claim that there were errors in the trial of Erick Julian Ortega, who was convicted in June 2016 of first-degree murder for the June 21, 2013, shooting death of Bobby Reynolds, 38.

Jurors also convicted Ortega of being a felon in possession of a firearm, along with finding true allegations that he committed the crime for the benefit of a criminal street gang and that he personally discharged a firearm.

Ortega was arrested in May 2014, after authorities got a tip that he had fled to Utah, where he was working as a dishwasher in a restaurant. Ortega's tattoos, inked across his body, helped to identify him to the tipster, who had seen an FBI wanted poster online, according to authorities.

He refused to identify himself when he was confronted by agents from the FBI's Salt Lake City office with a warrant for his arrest, and had identification bearing his photo with someone else's name. During a search of the room he had been renting, investigators found rap lyrics referring to shooting someone five times in the back and disappearing "like Houdini," Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Turk said after the verdict.

Reynolds was shot four times in the back and suffered a graze wound to the head five days after being asked where he was from, according to the prosecutor.

Ortega, who testified in his own defense, contended that another man had committed the crime and later told him details about the killing.

He was sentenced to 94 years to life in state prison in August 2016.

City News Service and Patch staffer Emily Holland contributed to this post; Image via Shutterstock