KING CITY — A Monterey County judge has given life sentences to two Sureno gang members from King City for their involvement in the 2019 murder of a Greenfield man.
On Sept. 29, Judge Mark E. Hood sentenced Eduardo Solis, aka “Sleepy,” 21, and Jose Juarez, aka “Trips,” 24, both of King City, for the murder of Charles Adolfo Jose, 19, of Greenfield. Solis received a 50 year, 8 month-to-life sentence, and Juarez received a 30 year, 8 month-to-life sentence.
In June 2022, a jury convicted Solis and Juarez of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, shooting at an occupied dwelling and street terrorism.
In the early afternoon hours of Jan. 13, 2019, Solis conspired with two fellow Sureno gang members to find and kill rival Norteno gang members in Greenfield. They traveled to Juarez’s King City residence, where Juarez — himself a Sureno gang member — provided the trio with three firearms and disguises.
Juarez then drove Solis in the shooter vehicle to a King City gas station, filled it with gas and returned home. Solis and three others then traveled in the shooter vehicle from Juarez’s residence to Greenfield. Minutes later, Juarez traveled to Greenfield in a separate vehicle.
“The co-conspirators scoured the city for rival Norteno gang members for over 30 minutes,” according to the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office in a news release. “In this period, Solis and Juarez separately traveled past Mr. Jose, who was in front of a friend’s home on 7th Street washing and cleaning his car.”
After seeing Jose on Seventh Street, Solis, Juarez and their co-conspirators then met at a Greenfield gas station.
“There, they discussed prospective targets they located in Greenfield and decided to murder Mr. Jose,” the DA’s Office stated. “This decision rested on the lone fact that Mr. Jose was wearing red, a color worn by Norteno gang members. However, Mr. Jose was not a gang member.”
After the gas station meeting, the shooter vehicle immediately traveled to Jose’s location. As Jose continued cleaning his car, Solis exited the shooter vehicle and fired 17 shots at him. Six of these shots struck Jose, and the remaining bullets struck two nearby homes and three vehicles parked on Seventh Street.
After the shooting, Juarez followed the shooter vehicle from Greenfield back to King City. Upon his return, Juarez purchased celebratory beer for Solis and the other occupants of the shooter vehicle.
Two additional defendants in this case, Brayan Urrutia-Flores and Luis Sarabia, face trial in early 2023.
