Jury finds defendant not guilty on gang charge

Dec. 9—The hands on the big clock just outside the Rogers County courtroom of Judge Stephen Pazzo were edging toward the midnight hour Wednesday, Dec. 6, as a jury of 10 women and two men returned a not guilty verdict on the gang-related portion of double murder charges against an Owasso man.

Manuel Quezada Jr., 51, who was initially charged with first-degree murder, was found guilty of first-degree manslaughter in the shooting deaths of Albert Thomas IV, 21, and Dejon Ross, 20, on the night of Oct. 22, 2019. The jury recommended six years in jail for Thomas' death and 10 years for Ross' death.

The options to consider lesser charges of second-degree murder and possible first-degree manslaughter were agreed upon by prosecution and defense earlier this week.

Neither the defendant's nor the victims' families wanted to make a statement immediately following the verdict.

A spokesperson for District Attorney Matt Ballard's prosecution team, Michelle Lowry, issued a statement Thursday morning: "We are pleased the families of DaJon and Albert received a measure of justice in this case. Quezada ruthlessly took the lives of two young men. After hearing all the evidence, this jury wisely decided Quezada should go to prison. We sincerely thank the members of the jury for their service."

The Quezada family and friends, along with members of the Thomas and Ross families, arrived at the courthouse around 8:15 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 6, and most of them were still in place when they learned the verdict around 11:30 p.m. The jury deliberated for nearly five hours.

Defense motions to dismiss all charges, and to include Stand Your Ground instructions to the jury, were both denied. However, the defense did successfully argue an "in defense of others" motion in relation to the defendant's wife, Angelica Quezada.

The jury verdict came after 13 days of testimony and closing arguments. The trial was frequently interrupted by attorney sidebars and courtroom breaks that sometimes stretched into hours as attorneys and the judge hashed out differences over permissible evidence and jury instructions.

The trial's narrative offered a complex and sometimes contradictory storyline, filled with accusations and denials of gang affiliations with the Mexican Mafia surrounding the defendant, and allegations one of the shooting victims was involved in a drug- and sex-trafficking operation that stretched from Owasso, Oklahoma, to California.

The state's unsuccessful attempts to prove Quezada's actions the night of the shootings were gang-related were originally based on a state "validation" process by Gang Investigator Rusty Brown. The process included documentation of two "old" tattoos and an alleged "tagging" for the Sorenos gang in Quezada's cell, which he shared with three other Hispanic men. The pending murder charges were also taken into consideration.

In a later psychological interview, Quezada reportedly said he was worried the music he listened to and that the way he dressed may have had a negative impact on his daughter.

Quezada testified he received the tattoos as part of being "jumped" into two different street gangs as a youth in the city of Bell, a Los Angeles suburb. His defense successfully showed Quezada had "left the gang behind" when he moved to Oklahoma nearly three decades ago to make a better life.

The defense argued Quezada shot the two men in self-defense, in defense of his family and in an attempt to save his daughter from a man the father believed was sex-trafficking her. She testified to the sex trafficking activity.

"It was not my intent to kill anybody," Quezada testified. "Oklahoma has been good to my family."

He described, and witnesses verified, how he moved to Oklahoma from California with his young family when National Steak and Poultry moved to Owasso. How he worked himself up from sweeping floors and doing maintenance for NSP to becoming a supervisor. He attended Tulsa Tech, earned at least eight industry certifications, and was hired on at NORDAM, a Tulsa aerospace company. He also obtained his real estate license and became a licensed agent.

However, Quezada's success story — from a gang-ridden suburb of Los Angeles to the quiet and prosperous "faith community" of Owasso — took that hard turn the evening of Oct. 22, 2019. His "attempt to save my daughter" ended with his being arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder, and his wife Angelica, also being arrested and charged with accessory to murder.

The charges against Angelica were dismissed for "good cause" in January 2020. A family member confirmed it cost nearly $40,000 in attorney fees to get her out of jail and charges dismissed. Quezada's defense cost has now exceeded $100,000, according to a family member.

In the meantime, the victims' families mourn the loss of their sons and nephews, Thomas and Ross.

"There will never be an Albert Ross the V," District Attorney Matt Ballard said in his closing statement. "Now is your chance to do what justice demands. ... Send him to prison for life."

Ballard told the jury the defendant "brought a gun to a fist fight" and did not deserve to claim self-defense under the law. At one point, Ballard said Quezada's daughter Samantha wanted to go to work and had verbalized on the video that she did not want to be rescued by her father.

"She was an adult still making bad decisions," Ballard said.

Samantha, who was 19 at the time of the shootings, claimed she, through her association with her "boyfriend" Thomas, became involved with drug-trafficking and had been taken to California to work 10-12 hours a day as a prostitute. She was arrested in California for prostitution and drug-trafficking.

The crucial footage from video surveillance taken from the defendant's home security cameras show Quezada's initial encounter with the victims inside the car parked in the street outside his home. It shows a fight that spilled over into the defendant's driveway, where he was beaten and kicked by Thomas and Ross. The video also shows Angelica Quezada on the ground during the altercation.

Following the fight, gun flashes from Quezada's gun — which he legally owned — are seen firing in Thomas' direction, as he was sitting in the car's driver seat. The defendant is then seen firing toward Ross, who was still outside the vehicle.

Samantha was heard begging her father to leave at multiple points.

The video of the fatal encounter was used by both prosecution and defense arguments.

Quezada's defense team consists of attorneys Shannon McMurray and Whitney Mauldin. District Attorney Ballard led the prosecution team.