Man, 33, convicted of gruesome cartel-related murders in Orange County
In one of the more brutal scenes to ever unfold in Southern California, a 33-year-old man from Phoenix, Arizona has been convicted of four cartel-related murders in 2015 that left three victims shot to death in a burning car in Orange County and a fourth victim filmed while taking his dying breaths, authorities announced this week.
Raul Gastellum Flores was convicted Monday by a jury on four felony counts of first-degree murder, four special circumstances of murder during the commission of a robbery and four special circumstances of multiple murders, a news release from the Orange County District Attorney’s Office stated.
The four victims were identified as Edgar and Joel Berrelleza, brothers with ties to the notorious Sinaloa Cartel, and two associates named Fernando Meza and Antonio Medina.
The murders, according to prosecutors, were retaliation for the Berrellezas’ decision to cut another man, identified as Rosario Roman-Lopez, out of their drug dealing enterprise with the Sinaloa Cartel.
Roman-Lopez, who orchestrated the murders, recruited Flores to travel from Arizona to Orange County armed with handguns, AK-47s and plans to steal tens of thousands of dollars from Berrellezas or kill them if they refused to pay, prosecutors said.
On Nov. 9, 2015, officers with the Orange Police Department responded to reports of a burning SUV in a residential neighborhood on Oakmont Street just after 2 p.m., where bystanders were attempting to douse the flames with a garden hose.
After firefighters extinguished the blaze, Edgar Berrelleza, Medina and Meza were found dead inside the vehicle.
Surveillance cameras captured Flores jumping out of the driver’s seat on Oakmont Street as the SUV, which was still moving, became engulfed in flames with the bodies inside.
The 33-year-old then escaped to a waiting sedan occupied by two other men.
All three men in the SUV had been shot multiple times in the head and the chest. Meza, who was discovered with his hands tied, had also been stabbed. Authorities say he was found to have soot in his lungs, meaning he was still alive when fire consumed the vehicle.
Later, at an apartment in Orange, Flores met up with Roman-Lopez who, along with unidentified gunmen, had kidnapped Edgar’s brother, Joel.
The crew proceeded to steal safes, cash and more than $60,000 worth of heroin from the apartment, authorities said.
“Flores and another accomplice forced Joel Berrelleza into his Pontiac where he was shot three times as they drove and recorded his dying breaths on a cellphone [camera],” prosecutors said.
His body was discovered in Fontana six days later after a passerby called police to report a man sleeping in his vehicle for several days.
“These murders were calculated to inflict the maximum amount of terror not only on their victims, but also on the neighbors and first responders who had to witness the absolute horror that was unleashed on their neighborhood,” DA Todd Spitzer said. “This was someone who took absolute pleasure in carrying out these killings.”
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The two unidentified defendants have been charged in connection with the murder and remain wanted by authorities.
Roman-Lopez is believed to have been murdered in Mexico as retaliation for the killings in Orange County.
Another defendant was a cooperating witness in the case, authorities said.
Flores is scheduled to be sentenced on July 19, 2024. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
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