REPORTING ON VIOLENCE

ARTICLE 2:  Juvenile Murder

BEFORE

Tearful Teen Gets 15 Years to Life for 1993 Slaying

    John Henry Vasquez was 16 when he killed another teenager at a party over a momentary insult. At his sentencing Wednesday in Sacramento Superior Court, Vasquez pleaded for the family of the victim to forgive him. They were unforgiving.
    "I made a mistake. There are no excuses," said a tearful Vasquez, who was given a 15-years-to-life sentence for the second-degree murder of Robert Maisonet, 19.
    Maisonet was shot dead in an apartment living room in the early morning of July 24, 1993. Vasquez is 2 1/2 years older now, but appearing in court with his round face and brass-rimmed glasses, he looked like a boy. A boy dressed in jail-issued sweats.
    "I know you said I will burn in hell. Please forgive me. That's all I want is for you to forgive me," Vasquez said in a quivering voice to the Maisonet family.
    Though Maisonet's girlfriend, Veronica Bursiga, and his sister, Ana Rodriguez, sat only 20 feet away, neither Vasquez's words nor his tears touched the angry young women.
    "You had no right to take the life of the father of my kids," Bursiga said. "I am grateful the jury came back the way they did, but the ultimate price which you will pay will be something between you and God," she shouted.
    While Rodriguez was speaking, Vasquez turned away to avoid her glare. "Why did you take my brother?" Rodriguez yelled at Vasquez. "You still have your life. You can still see your family. All we can see is a headstone."
    According to trial testimony in August, Vasquez and two companions went to a party on 24th Avenue. At the door they were rebuked by party participants, including members of a rival street gang.
    Vasquez and a friend returned to the party 15 minutes later and as his friend pushed open the door, Vasquez pulled out a gun and fired multiple shots. Two bullets struck Maisonet, one piercing his aorta.
    Vasquez's sentence includes a special gang enhancement that means he must serve at least 15 years in prison before becoming eligible for parole. Defense attorney James Carroll asked the judge to run the gang penalty concurrently so that Vasquez could be considered for release in about seven years.
    Vasquez' companion at the time of the shooting, "who was equally if not more culpable," is now walking the streets as a result of his plea bargain in the case, Carroll said.
    While in custody over the past 60 days, Vasquez continued his high school studies and now has a high school diploma, the defense attorney added.
    Deputy District Attorney Natalia Luna said the jury convicted Vasquez as the gunman, no one else.
    "He wants absolution. He wants people to forgive him and make things OK. He has no remorse," Luna said as Vasquez's family and friends sat in the audience.
    Judge Jack Sapunor said he agreed with a study done in the case from the California Youth Authority that found Vasquez unsuitable for the treatment and rehabilitation of a youth correctional facility.
    "This offense occurred for no reason at all. In this gang lifestyle, this brief moment of humiliation became a catalyst for violence. This gang lifestyle leads to nowhere except prison, and Mr. Vasquez, that is where you are bound," Sapunor said.

AFTER

Tearful Teen Gets 15 Years to Life for 1993 Slaying

John Henry Vasquez was 16 when he killed another teenager at a party over a momentary insult. At his sentencing Wednesday in Sacramento Superior Court, Vasquez pleaded for the family of the victim to forgive him. They were unforgiving.
    "I made a mistake. There are no excuses," said a tearful Vasquez, who was given a 15-years-to-life sentence for the second-degree murder of Robert Maisonet, 19.
    Maisonet was shot dead in an apartment living room in the early morning of July 24, 1993. Vasquez is 2 1/2 years older now, but appearing in court with his round face and brass-rimmed glasses, he still looked like a boy. A boy dressed in jail-issued sweats.
    Maisonet's death is typical of a growing trend in California and across the nation. One of the record-breaking 97 homicides that occurred in Sacramento County in 1993, this one featured a victim and a killer who knew each other. That's the case in 78.3 percent of all homicides nationally.
    Their ages are also typical in California, where juvenile homicide rates have exceeded adult rates since 1989 and where almost 20 percent of alleged killers are 11 to 17 years old. Nationally, death by homicide ranks as the second leading killer among juveniles, right behind motor vehicle accidents.
    "I know you said I will burn in hell. Please forgive me. That's all I want is for you to forgive me," Vasquez said in a quivering voice to the Maisonet family.
    Though Maisonet's girlfriend, Veronica Bursiga, and his sister, Ana Rodriguez, sat only 20 feet away, neither Vasquez' words nor his tears touched the angry young women.
    "You had no right to take the life of the father of my kids," Bursiga said. "I am grateful the jury came back the way they did, but the ultimate price which you will pay will be something between you and God," she shouted.
    While Rodriguez was speaking, Vasquez turned away to avoid her glare. "Why did you take my brother?" Rodriguez yelled at Vasquez. "You still have your life. You can still see your family. All we can see is a headstone."
    According to testimony in August, Vasquez and two companions went to a party on 24th Avenue. [What were the blood alcohol levels on Vasquez and Maisonet? Had the other partygoers been drinking alcohol? Was there evidence of other drug use?]   At the door they were rebuked by party participants, including members of a rival street gang.
    Vasquez and a friend returned to the party 15 minutes later, and as his friend pushed open the door, Vasquez pulled out a gun [What type of gun was used? Who is the manufacturer? Was it a "crime" gun - a Saturday night special or a 9 mm handgun? Did Vasquez own the gun? If he bought it, how much did he purchase the gun for? To whom was the gun registered?] and fired multiple shots. Two bullets struck Maisonet, one piercing his aorta.
    Three of every four homicides in California involve guns, 88 percent of which are handguns. Gang activity, for which Vasquez received a special sentence enhancement of at least 15 years in prison, also featured prominently in this case, as it does in one of every four homicides in California, according to the Legislative Analyst's Office. Nationwide, the figure is about 6 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Defense attorney James Carroll asked the judge to run the gang penalty concurrently so that Vasquez could be considered for release in about seven years.
    Vasquez' companion at the time of the shooting, "who was equally if not more culpable," is now walking the streets as a result of his plea bargain in the case, Carroll said.
    While in custody over the past 960 days, Vasquez continued his high school studies and now has a high school diploma, the defense attorney added.
Deputy District Attorney Natalie Luna said the jury convicted Vasquez as the gunman, no one else.
    "He wants absolution. He wants people to forgive him and make things OK. He has no remorse," Luna said as Vasquez' family and friends sat in the audience.
    Judge Jack Sapunor said he agreed with a study done in the case from the California Youth Authority that found Vasquez unsuitable for the treatment and rehabilitation of a youth correctional facility.
    "This offense occurred for no reason at all. In this gang lifestyle, this brief moment of humiliation became a catalyst for violence. This gang lifestyle leads to nowhere except prison, and Mr. Vasquez, that is where you are bound," Sapunor said.
    It will cost taxpayers $20,000 to $22,000 a year to keep Vasquez in prison in California, where juvenile incarceration is expected to increase more than 29 percent in the next decade. Risk factors identified with juvenile crime include failure in school, family problems, substance abuse, conduct problems, gang membership and gun possession.

Suggestions for accompanying graphs: U.S. victimization by age group, race, sex per 1,000; Victim/offender relationship in solved homicides. All the information for these graphs is in this handbook. Suggestions for accompanying sidebars or follow-up stories: gang violence trends: how the change in choice of weapons - the increased availability of firearms - has increased the rate of homicide; and how former gang members are joining together to prevent guns from getting into the hands of gang members.

Back to Reporting on Violence Articles