Stockton, California

From the Stockton Record of July 20, 2005

Trial begins in fatal shooting at market

Opening statements began Tuesday in the trial of Carlos Valles Ojeda, who sat before a jury for the third time accused in the murder of an accomplice shot dead during a botched robbery.

Ojeda's first trial in connection to the Valentine's Day 2003 robbery of the Better Buy Market at Stanislaus and Sonora streets ended with a deadlocked jury.

San Joaquin County Superior Court Judge Richard M. Mallett called a mistrial the second time, citing misconduct and illness among jurors.

Ojeda, 28, is charged with murder, attempted murder and two counts of robbery. The third trial, heard by a fresh jury, is expected to last three weeks.

San Joaquin County Deputy District Attorney Chuck Schultz said during his opening statements Tuesday that Ojeda and his accomplice, Valdez Franklin, 28, walked into the market shortly after noon on Feb. 14, 2003, masked and armed with automatic pistols.

The pair demanded cash when Darrell Deal, the store's owner at the time, heard a shot fired. Deal slumped to the floor from gunshot injuries and reached for a gun he kept under the counter and fired back.

"Deal felt he was going to be killed," Schultz said. Deal survived the attack.

Moments later, Franklin was dead, and Ojeda fled in a black Nissan Pathfinder. A neighbor reported the license plate number to police, who traced it back to Ojeda, Schultz said.

Ojeda is charged with Franklin's death because he went into the robbery knowing death could be a consequence.

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