In November 2011, Elizabeth Renee Vasquez was in a relationship with Zamora. Renee’s brother, Emmanuel Joe Donez (Joe),[1] saw Facebook posts about incidents between Zamora and Vasquez which angered Joe, as he believed the relationship was abusive.
The Murder of Isaac Donez
On November 28, 2011, shortly after Thanksgiving, Joe went to find Vasquez and Zamora at the residence of Joe’s cousin Danny Gaytan, so that Joe could talk to Zamora, although it crossed his mind that the encounter might come to blows. Cynthia Donez (Cynthia), Joe’s wife, drove a white Dodge with Joe, Joe’s stepbrother Isaac Donez (Isaac), and another of Joe’s cousins, Timothy Young, to Gaytan’s house.
When the group arrived at Gaytan’s residence on Meadow Place, in Lemoore, Cynthia parked the Dodge next to the passenger side of a black SUV, with the front of the Dodge lined up with the passenger door of the SUV, both facing the front of Gaytan’s house.
Cynthia stayed in the Dodge while the others got out. Joe noticed that another cousin, Adrian, was in the SUV, and Young and Isaac went to say hello to Adrian, who was “pretty much” in the same gang as Isaac. Joe knocked on the door of Gaytan’s house and someone let him in. Once inside, Joe went into the garage and spoke to Vasquez, telling her he wanted to speak to Zamora. Joe and Vasquez made their way back into the house and out the front door of the residence.
While Joe was in the front yard, he saw Zamora emerge from the shadows by the driveway. Joe raised his hand, pointed at Zamora and asked if he was “Santiago.” Zamora said he was, and Joe confronted him and asked why he had “put hands” on Vasquez. Zamora responded by asking Joe if he wanted to “get beast.” Joe did not know what that term meant, but “gang members use it.”
The confrontation between Joe and Zamora lasted a few minutes. At one point, Joe called Zamora names and Zamora pulled a gun from the left side of his waistband, cocked it, and held it to the left side of his body. Joe, who thought the gun looked like a nine-millimeter firearm, told Zamora he could put the gun down and the two of them could fight, one-on-one, in the street. Young intervened and tried to dissuade the two. Joe stopped and he and the others began to leave the area.
Before leaving, Joe walked over to Gaytan, who was outside, and apologized for disrespecting him at his house. Joe then walked back to the Dodge. As he did, Zamora went to the driver’s side of the SUV. Young moved to a location between the passenger’s side of the SUV and the driver’s side of the Dodge. Zamora and Isaac briefly exchanged words. Cynthia overheard Zamora say something, and Isaac responded, “we can do this at the park, homie.” As Isaac walked away from Zamora, gunshots rang out.
Three shots were fired initially, followed by a brief pause and additional shots. During the shooting, both Joe and Cynthia heard the sound of breaking glass. Joe believed only one gun was fired during the shooting; another person in the area also thought the multiple gunshots sounded similar.
After the shots were fired, there were flashes and Isaac turned and fell to the ground. Young took cover between the SUV and Dodge. Zamora and Isaac were both in the area of the flashes, which Cynthia thought came from “in front” of Isaac.
A neighbor of Gaytan’s, Kathleen Duarte, heard gunshots and saw flashes coming from “an SUV” and going towards the “white car.” Duarte did not notice anyone shooting into the SUV.
During the incident, neither Joe nor Cynthia ever saw Isaac or Young with a weapon. At trial, Joe denied ever having told Detectives Janette Hanes or Mike Wallace that Young fired two to four shots at Zamora with a .45-caliber gun.
When Isaac fell to the ground, Joe yelled at Young to grab Isaac. Zamora and another man got into the SUV and
[1] We refer to various individuals with first names rather than last to avoid confusion.
