Why convicted killer’s wife was the center of attention at the sentencing hearing

An Atwater man was sentenced to 40 years to life in prison for a murder in Turlock, but it was his wife who was the subject of ire by the victim’s family during a sentencing hearing last week.

“She may have not pulled the trigger but she is as much to blame as he is,” said Ruby Rodrigues, sister of the victim Ralph Vigil, 51 of Turlock, who was fatally shot outside the Venice Motel on Golden State Boulevard in January 2020.

Rodrigues and other family members said Isabel Pastran treated the trial as a joke, “laughing and carrying on with no regard for life.”

Vigil’s brother Carlos Rodrigues said in a statement, “A permanent decision was made of temporary emotion to take a life and it is no laughing matter; Isabel Pastran seems to think so.

Pastran watched her boyfriend, Jose Andrade, shoot Vigil at the motel. She then pushed Andrade back into their vehicle, turned off the headlights and fled the scene, according to Deputy District Attorney Ahnna Reicks. Pastran later helped Andrade destroy evidence by removing decals from their vehicle and then cutting them up and disposing of them, returning the modified vehicle to the person they’d recently purchased it from, disposing of their clothing and deleting text and social media messages, Reicks said.

Pastran also turned off her phone, including on the day of their arrests a few weeks after the murder, when the couple traveled to the Bay Area, according to Reicks. They went to the Oakland Zoo and then to Pier 39, where, at the request of Turlock police, they were arrested by San Francisco police.

Following a three-week jury that ended in May, Andrade was convicted of second-degree murder with an enhancement for using a firearm. Pastran was convicted of being an accessory to murder after the fact.

In addition to laughing, smiling and being generally flippant throughout the proceedings, Pastran had to be admonished multiple times by Judge Dawna Reeves and courtroom bailiffs for her behavior with Andrade, who was in custody while Pastran was free. That behavior included standing too close to him, touching his hair and handing him something.

Pastran’s attorney Willard Bakeman told the court that laughing and smiling are Pastran’s involuntary responses to stress and anxiety.

“To the extent that she seems like she doesn’t care, she’s sorry for that,” Bakeman said. “She is very upset by this case and very nervous about it, so to say that she takes it in a manner that is cavalier or funny would be totally wrong.”

Reeves saw it differently, describing Pastran’s attitude as “cavalier, careless, laughing in the face of people who are hurting over the loss of a loved one.”

“Every single person who testified here today talked more about Pastran than the shooter,” the judge said at the June 23 hearing. “That’s a problem.”

A near miss, a challenge to fight

During trial, evidence was presented that on Jan. 29, 2020, Pastran was driving with Andrade at North Golden State Boulevard and Almond Avenue when she nearly hit Vigil, who was on a bicycle, Reicks told The Bee.

Words were exchanged between Vigil and Andrade, who challenged Vigil to a fight at the Venice Motel, just a few hundred feet away, according to Reicks.

Andrade and Pastran arrived at the hotel first and then Vigil, who brought along a friend who witnessed the near collision. Reicks said Vigil didn’t know how many people were in the car so he brought the friend in case he got jumped.

Vigil thought he was going into a fistfight, but within seconds of getting out of his vehicle, Andrade fired four rounds at Vigil, Reicks said. As Vigil was turning to run, one of the bullets entered his left lower abdomen and exited on the other side.

Andrade’s attorney, Deputy Public Defender Jed Harrington, argued that his client acted in self-defense and that the fight was initiated by Vigil.

The incident was captured on the hotel’s surveillance system, which did not have audio. Following the shooting, Andrade can be seen pointing the gun at Vigil’s friend before he and Pastran fled, Reicks said.

“The video leans heavily against Andrade because the demeanor and mannerisms demonstrated appear to be intentional, not in self-defense,” Reeves said during the sentencing.

The jury agreed but did convict Andrade of second-degree murder, not the first-degree premeditated murder he was charged with.

Judge had options because offenders were young adults

Reeves sentenced Andrade to serve 15 years to life in prison for the murder and 25 years to life for the gun enhancement, to be served consecutively.

Reeves had the discretion to strike the enhancement or lower the sentence and Harrington argued she should due to Andrade being only 19 at the time and having no prior record.

Reeves said she took into consideration that as a youthful offender, Andrade will be eligible for parole early. Under California law, he will be eligible for parole after serving 25 years of his sentence.

At the time of the murder, Pastran also was 19 and was six months pregnant.

Reicks said Pastran considered changing her plea several times but wouldn’t agree to a plea deal that didn’t sentence her to house arrest so she could stay at home with her and Andrade’s baby.

“She could have pled early on if she wanted to truly take responsibility for her actions,” Reicks said during the sentencing. “She just doesn’t want to be punished and take responsibility. She, throughout the entire court process, had a smirk on her face … like she is above the law.”

Many of Vigil’s family members asked that Pastran get the maximum sentence of three years.

While Reeves agreed with Reicks characterization of Pastran, she said she couldn’t legally consider it when imposing a sentence.

She did deny Pastran’s request for probation but sentenced her to the lower term of 16 months, 10 to be served in the county jail and six on supervised release.