Two accused of fatal shooting at Bowlero in Fresno to be tried. Was it self-defense?

The killing of an 18-year-old that followed a fight inside a busy Fresno bowling alley will go to trial, a judge has decided.

The preliminary hearing wrapped up Wednesday for the fatal shooting two years ago of Devin “DJ” Johnson, an 18-year-old gunned down just outside the doors of Bowlero on Blackstone and Sierra avenues in northeast Fresno.

Rafael Ordaz Gonzalez and Giovanni Gustavo Rodriguez, who were 18 and 19, respectively, at the time of the fatal shooting, were arrested less than a month later and have each pleaded not guilty for charges of murder and gang enhancements.

Ordaz Gonzalez is represented by attorney Gerald Schwab and Rodriguez’s attorney is Anjali Bansal. Both argued their clients acted in self-defense. Fresno police officers testified in the hearing that all three men could be seen in surveillance footage holding handguns.

Police testified they arrived to a chaotic scene after a call for an “armed subject,” and found people streaming out of the busy bowling alley about 10:40 p.m. Feb. 11, 2022.

Officer Kong Xiong said he spoke to some patrons as they fled who said someone had fired a weapon. “At this point, it was just chaos. Everybody yelling and shouting,” he said on the witness stand.

Video showed Fresno bowling alley fight

One of Johnson’s friends had dragged him inside the bowling alley from just outside the front doors, police said. Some of the two sets of glass doors had been shattered by gun blasts while a handgun and extended clip were lying on the ground.

Police said video surveillance showed Johnson entered the bowling alley and had to wait because the business was full of people. Johnson with friends and family walked into a common area as another person, who was not one of the defendants but was at the alley with the defendants, was walking in the opposite direction.

The man “shoulder bumped” Johnson’s mother and then Johnson before they exchanged words, police testified. That unnamed man then “snaked,” or sucker punched, Johnson before multiple people began scuffling.

Police testified they believed the fight was sparked by a gang rivalry between the two groups.

Ordaz Gonzalez and Rodriguez were at Bowlero to celebrate the birthday of a mutual friend, according to testimony.

Johnson left the business for a moment after the scuffle and then returned with a handgun he pulled from a bag, police said. He was looking for a friend he did not realize had left already.

After a few moments of searching, Johnson again headed out, police said. At some point as he was leaving Johnson passed the other group of young men he had fought with, police said on the witness stand.

Johnson went through at least one set of the glass doors and turned once more before two of the men in the rival group fired through the doors, striking Johnson, police said. Johnson still had a gun in his hand, police said.

The surveillance video did not include any angles from the outside of the building.

Police testify in Bowlero murder prelim

One witness, an employee, said she heard about four rounds fired, according to Damian Herrera, another Fresno officer. “She said she heard multiple sounds as if there were multiple firearms being fired at the scene,” he said on the witness stand.

Another officer testified the gun found outside where Johnson fell after being shot had a “stovepipe,” which is when a bullet casing gets stuck where it is typically ejected after firing. The firearm was a ghost gun, which is an illegal weapon manufactured at home without a serial number, police testified.

Under questioning after the shooting, Ordaz Rodriguez admitted to being at the bowling alley after initially denying it, according to Manuel Romero, who was a detective at the time. Ordaz Rodriguez said he “self-defensed himself,” according to Romero.

“He said, if anyone pulled out a gun, we’d — we meaning the police — we’d react the same,” Romero said on the witness stand.

Both defendants were called to answer at trial by Judge Kimberly A. Gaab, who set the next hearing for May 16. The case was being tried by Fresno County Deputy District Attorney Kendall Reynolds.