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Home > All News > 2008 News Witness To Jamiel Shaw Shooting Testifies At Pre-Trial Hearing POSTED: 1:24 pm PDT June 18, 2008 UPDATED: 6:59 pm PDT June 18, 2008 LOS ANGELES -- A woman testified Wednesday that she saw 17-year-old Jamiel Shaw Jr. the moment the standout Los Angeles High School football player was fatally shot March 2. Tiffiney Johnson, who lives in the same Arlington Heights neighborhood as Shaw, who was gunned about three blocks from his home, told the court that she saw a Latino in a hooded sweatshirt fatally shoot Jamiel. Johnson was testifying at a hearing aimed at determining if authorities have enough evidence against reputed 18th Street gang member Pedro Espinoza to try him on a charge of murder. A sometimes emotional Johnson said she saw the killer get out of a small white car with tinted windows, approach Shaw, then shoot him. "He fell straight down to the ground," she testified. With Shaw on the ground, the shooter pointed a gun at the young black man's head and pulled the trigger. The gunman then fled to the white car and left, according to Johnson's testimony. Johnson did not identify Espinoza, a 19-year-old undocumented immigrant, as the shooter as part of her testimony. When she saw Jamiel get shot, Johnson said was frozen in shock for 5 to 10 minutes before telling anyone what happened. Her cousin later called police about the shooting, she said. According to police, Jamiel was three blocks from home when he was confronted by Espinoza and another suspect about 8:30 p.m. Espinoza got out of the car and asked Shaw, "Where are you from?" -- meaning what gang -- before he opened fire, police said. The shooting occurred a day after Espinoza was released from county jail, where he had been serving time for assault with a deadly weapon, police said. Shaw lived in an area claimed by Bloods gang members, according to police. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Bob Bowers blocked the efforts of Espinoza's attorney, Deputy Public Defender Jorge Guzman, to ask the witnesses questions about Shaw's alleged ties to gangs. Bowers ruled that such questions were irrelevant at this time. Espinoza, who has pleaded not guilty, made his court appearance in an orange jail jumpsuit. He has at least two tattoos -- a teardrop under his left eye and a "BK" tattoo behind his left ear. In the area, BK is a well-known abbreviation for the Blood Killers, a gang clique. Also testifying Wednesday were Shaw's 14-year-old girlfriend, Chrystale Miles, who said she was talking to Jamiel on a cell phone at the time of his death. Another witness, Yisenia Sanchez, testified that she was driving Espinoza and another man around town the night Shaw died in the 2100 block of Fifth Avenue. A clearly uncomfortable Sanchez averted her eyes from Espinoza during the court proceedings. Espinoza's murder charge includes the special circumstance allegation that the defendant was "an active participant in a criminal street gang and the murder was carried out to further the activities of the criminal street gang." Prosecutors have not decided whether to seek the death penalty for Espinoza. Families of Shaw and Espinoza were present in the courtroom Wednesday. Shaw supporters wore T-shirts with a photograph of the football star that said "An illegal alien gang banger killed me."   News Topics | Surenos | Home | Research | History | Blood Gangs | Crip Gangs | People | Gallery | Blog |