Jury finds Brian Herrera guilty of 2005 murder

The crime was committed almost four years ago and today, it took more than five hours of deliberation for a jury to find twenty-four year old Brian Herrera guilty of Murder. But he won’t know his fate until June ninth since Judge Oswell Legall has deferred sentencing to allow Herrera’s attorney, Liesje Barrow Chung, time to prepare a mitigation plea. Herrera shot and killed Eugene White Encalada, also known as ‘Witch’, on October seventeenth, 2005. Encalada was walking on Dean Street when Herrera approached him on a bicycle wearing a ski mask and shot him in the chest and left shoulder. Herrera then rode into a yard on Tigris Street but police on mobile patrol set chase and when they caught up with him, Herrera had a bag containing forty bullets but no gun. The mask was found nearby and was tendered as evidence along with Herrera’s shirt that had gunpowder residue on it. Inspector Andrew Ramirez’ testified that when he arrived at the scene of the arrest, Herrera asked him how many were dead. Herrera chose not to testify or give a statement in court.