Juan Pablo Barajas, a 22-year-old Latinomale, died Saturday, June 15, in East Compton, according to Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner's records. The cause of death is pending.

After five weeks of often contentious testimony, a jury will soon decide whether a Mongols Motorcycle Club member committed murder when he shot a SWAT team member who burst into his San Gabriel home at 4 a.m. on Oct 28, 2014, or acted in self-defense because he didn't know the "intruders" were police. 

David Martinez, 41, is charged with murder and assault on a police officer with a firearm in the shooting that killed Pomona Police SWAT team member Shaun Diamond, 45, nearly five years ago and injured Martinez's father, Arturo.

Closing arguments begin Thursday at 9 a.m. in the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center downtown, after which the jury of six women and six men will begin deliberations. 

The prosecution, led by Los Angeles County Deputy Dist. Attys. Michael Blake and Jacques Garden, maintains that Martinez was a full-fledged, a.k.a. "full-patch" Mongol who knew officers were at his door when he fired his shotgun and then lied to cover up what he had done.

"He saw an opportunity and he took a shot," prosecutor Blake said during his opening statement on May 6, the Daily Bulletin reported.

But the defense, led by Public Defender Blake Sullivan, called the shooting "a perfect storm" of events that led to Diamond's death — "tragic, sad, unfortunate, but accidental."

Martinez, a clean-shaven man who worked as a termite inspector before his arrest, has a large Mongols tattoo on his chest, he acknowledged at trial, but it wasn't visible under the conservative button-down shirts and dark ties he wore in court. 

He was visibly nervous when he took the stand on June 4. "I've never testified in court before," he said, "never." And his voice broke as he began his description of the shooting, listing the family who lived in the small home, he, his common-law wife and their baby in the back of the house, their 10-year-old son in the other adjacent bedroom, and his parents sleeping in the front room with his sister, who has Down syndrome, because that's the place she always wanted to sleep. 

Martinez, who testified for two days, said he woke at 4 a.m. to hear a loud banging coming from the front of his house, where his parents and sister slept. 

He never heard any voices identifying themselves as police, he said. With their four dogs barking and "that intense banging, banging," he said he grabbed  a shotgun from under his bed and ran to the front room where he saw his father opening the front door and the front tip of what appeared to be a gun pointing inside. 

Martinez said he called to his parents not to open the door. He had argued with a Mongols member the night before, had unpaid dues to the organization and feared they were coming to hurt him. 

"I never heard anybody identify themselves as police," he said. "I remember telling my dad twice, 'Wait, wait,' but I don't think he heard me.... I saw the screen door open up and  I just remember seeing a barrel, a black barrel, and I fired the shotgun."

After that, he said he heard screaming, from the porch and his father, screaming, 'Police.' He said he saw his father had been shot in the arm and  police entering the house, so he threw down his gun and laid down on the floor, shouting, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I didn't know you were the police. I thought you were the Mongols."

He said he didn't know until later, when he was handcuffed and sitting outside, that anyone other than his father had been shot. 

Later under cross-examination, prosecutor Blake asked Martinez, "You shot to kill that day?"

"I shot to protect my family," Martinez replied.

Martinez's parents believed the police had fired the shots that killed Diamond and grazed Martinez's father, a conviction they still hold today. But investigators say the only shot fired that morning came from Martinez's gun. 

Diamond was shot in the back of the neck. Investigators believe he had turned away from the door to let his fellow officers move inside when he was struck.

Despite the chaos and Diamond's grave injury, none of the officers fired their weapons, the prosecutors said. They remained professional, they said, and did their jobs. 

Martinez's parents weren't allowed in the courtroom until after he testified, but his adult brother and sisters were always in the gallery, staying after court each day to pick up his laundry and make sure he had fresh clothes for the following day. 

Diamond's friends and family appeared daily as well, and at least a dozen of his law enforcement colleagues filled the courtroom the day Martinez took the stand. 

Diamond's daughter, Margo, said after the trial one day that her father, known for his sense of humor, was also an efficient and meticulous person. 

"He always had a plan," Margo Diamond said. "He always had a way out." Her father loved his SWAT duties, she said, but she never worried about that. She worried more about him riding his motorcycle to work than she did about him getting hurt on the job. 

About 14 officers were at the house serving a search warrant that morning, as part of a multi-agency operation targeting members of the Mongols Motorcycle Club. Pomona police weren't part of the task force investigating the Mongols, but helped serve one of the seven warrants that morning.

Pomona Police Sgt. Richard Aguiar became emotional during his testimony on May 6, the Daily Bulletin reported, as he described how he and Diamond, his best friend, were given the job of breaching the door. He said he had to continue on with his duties, even after he saw his friend fall.

Martinez got involved with the Mongols in 2011, Sullivan said, but after a couple of years became disenchanted with the group because membership took too much time away from his family and the dues became too expensive for him to pay. Then in the spring of 2013 he was injured in a motorcycle accident. He and his family moved in with his parents during his recovery and he said he never rode a motorcycle again. 

He didn't leave the club because he was worried about retaliation, Martinez testified, but the prosecutors brought in an expert witness,  Darrin Kozlowski, who became a full-patch Mongol while working undercover for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. 

Kozlowski, wearing a suit, glasses and a neatly trimmed goatee, testified that in his experience, all a Mongols member had to do to leave the club was make sure he had paid up all his dues. 

The case took a long time to get to trial, Martinez said during testimony, in part because his parents insisted he drop Sullivan, his public defender, and get another attorney who would put forward their belief that it was the police who had fired the fatal shot that day. 

His parents paid the attorney in advance, he said, and he stayed with him out of respect for what they had paid. But he and his parents had many arguments about what happened, he said, and he ultimately came back to Sullivan. 

Initially, Martinez said, he wanted to believe his parents' version of events. "I couldn't accept at the time that I shot him [Diamond]," he said, his voice breaking. "That was the part we argued about, but I came to accept that my actions, of wanting to protect my family on Oct. 28, 2014, at 4 a.m., shot Shaun Diamond. I've come to accept that I did shoot him."

Photo: Officer Shaun Diamond in a 2000 photo with his daughter, Margo. Credit: Family photo

Anthony Manuel Beltran, a 14-year-old Latinomale, died Wednesday, June 19, in Cudahy, according to Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner's records. The cause of death is pending.

After five weeks of contentious testimony, a jury will soon decide whether a Mongols Motorcycle Club member murdered a Pomona SWAT officer after he burst into his San Gabriel home nearly five years ago, or acted in self-defense because he didn't know the intruder was a police officer. 

David Martinez, 41, has been charged with murder and assault on a police officer with a firearm in the shooting that killed Shaun Diamond, 45, on Oct. 28, 2014. Martinez’s father, Arturo was also injured. 

Closing arguments begin Thursday at 9 a.m. in the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in downtown Los Angeles, after which the jury of six women and six men will begin deliberations. The trial began May 6. 

The prosecution, led by Los Angeles County Deputy Dist. Attys. Michael Blake and Jacques Garden, said that Martinez was a full-fledged, a.k.a. "full-patch" Mongol who knew officers were at his door at 4 a.m. when he fired his shotgun and then lied to cover up what he had done.

The defense, led by Public Defender Blake Sullivan, called the shooting "a perfect storm" of events that led to Diamond's death — "tragic, sad, unfortunate, but accidental."

Martinez, a clean-shaven man who worked as a termite inspector before his arrest, has a large Mongols tattoo on his chest, he acknowledged during the trial, but it wasn't visible under the conservative button-down shirts and dark ties he wore in court. 

He was visibly nervous when he took the stand on June 4. 

"I've never testified in court before," he said, "Never." 

Martinez’s voice broke as he began his description of the shooting. He said that he and his family, including his common-law wife and baby, his 10-year-old son and his parents, along with his sister who has Down syndrome, all share the small home. 

Martinez, who testified for two days, said he woke at 4 a.m. to hear a loud banging coming from the front of his house, where his parents and sister slept. 

With their four dogs barking and "that intense banging, banging," he said he grabbed a shotgun from under his bed and ran to the front room where he saw his father opening the front door and the tip of what appeared to be a gun pointing inside. 

Martinez said he told his parents not to open the door. He had argued with a Mongols member the night before, had unpaid dues to the organization and feared they were coming to hurt him. 

"I never heard anybody identify themselves as police," he said. "I remember telling my Dad twice, 'Wait, wait,' but I don't think he heard me ... I saw the screen door open up and I just remember seeing a barrel, a black barrel, and I fired the shotgun."

After that, he said he heard screaming coming from the porch and his father screaming, “Police!” His father had been shot in the arm, and Martinez said he threw down his gun and laid on the floor shouting, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were the police. I thought you were the Mongols.” 

Diamond was shot in the back of the neck. Investigators believe he had turned away from the door to let his fellow officers move inside when he was struck.

Martinez said he didn't know until later — when he was handcuffed and sitting outside —that anyone other than his father had been shot. 

Later, under cross-examination, Blake asked Martinez: "You shot to kill that day?"

"I shot to protect my family," Martinez replied.

Martinez's parents believe the police had fired the shots that killed Diamond and grazed Martinez's father. Investigators say the only shot fired that morning came from Martinez's gun. 

Despite the chaos, none of the officers fired their weapons, the prosecutors said. They remained professional, they said, and did their jobs. 

Martinez's parents weren't allowed in the courtroom until after he testified, but his adult brother and sisters were always in the gallery, staying after court each day to pick up his laundry and make sure he had fresh clothes for the following day. 

Diamond's friends and family appeared daily as well, and at least a dozen of his law enforcement colleagues filled the courtroom the day Martinez took the stand. 

Diamond's daughter, Margo, said one day after the trial that her father, known for his sense of humor, was also an efficient and meticulous person.

"He always had a plan," Margo Diamond said. "He always had a way out." 

Diamond loved his SWAT duties, she said, but she never worried about that. She worried more about him riding his motorcycle to work than she did about him getting hurt on the job. 

The morning of the shooting, about 14 officers were at the house serving a search warrant as part of a multiagency operation targeting members of the Mongols Motorcycle Club. 

Martinez got involved with the Mongols in 2011, Sullivan said, but after a couple of years, he became disenchanted with the group because membership took too much time away from his family and the dues became too expensive for him to pay. 

Then, in the spring of 2013, he was injured in a motorcycle accident. He and his family moved in with his parents during his recovery and he said he never rode a motorcycle again. 

Despite his misgivings, Martinez testified that he didn't leave the club because he was worried he would be harmed, but the prosecutors disputed that with an expert witness, Darrin Kozlowski, who became a full-patch Mongol while working undercover for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. 

Kozlowski, wearing a dark suit, glasses and a neatly trimmed goatee, testified that in his experience, all a Mongols member had to do to leave the club was make sure he had paid up all his dues. 

The prosecution and defense also argued at length about the undercover video and audio tapes officers used to try to get a confession out of Martinez as he was being transported to jail and in the jail.  

Prosecution witnesses testified that Martinez appeared to be boasting about shooting a police officer when he was talking to others in his cell, but public defender Sullivan wanted all the videos to be played for the jury, because they showed Martinez was consistent when he said he didn't know he was shooting at a police officer. Sullivan also argued that investigators were deliberately misrepresenting Martinez's statements to the jury.

The trial went nearly two weeks over the expected length. Testimony was slow because the attorneys on both sides often objected to their rival's questions, and Judge Charlaine Olmedo several times sent the jury out to admonish the attorneys for going beyond the boundaries of what she had established for the testimony. 

The case took years to get to trial, Martinez said during testimony, in part because his parents insisted he drop Sullivan, his public defender, and get another attorney who would put forward their belief that it was the police who had fired the fatal shot that day. 

His parents paid the attorney in advance, he said, and he stayed with him out of respect for what they had paid. But he and his parents had many arguments about what happened, he said, and he ultimately came back to Sullivan. 

Initially, Martinez said, he couldn’t accept that his bullet killed a police officer. He wanted to believe his parents' version of events, he said, his voice breaking, but “I've come to accept that I did shoot Shaun Diamond.” 

Photo: Officer Shaun Diamond is shown in a 2000 photo with his daughter, Margo. Credit: Family photo

Travon Keith Williams, a 33-year-old blackmale, died Wednesday, June 19, in Athens, according to Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner's records. The cause of death is pending.

Jamie'on Nicholas Kievell Jackson, a 16-year-old blackmale, died Wednesday, June 19, in Athens, according to Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner's records. The cause of death is pending.

Leslie Andre Wakefield, a 26-year-old black man, was shot and killed Friday, June 14, in the 1900 block of West 78th Street in Manchester Square, according to Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s records.

Shortly after 4 p.m., Wakefield was sitting in the driver’s seat of a black sedan with a friend when a vehicle drove by and a person inside shot at them, police said.

Both men were wounded – Wakefield fatally. Police said no suspects have been identified.

His grandfather, Lee Carter, was mowing the lawn of the beige stucco home he’s lived in for more than four decades when he heard pops.

Paramedics took Wakefield to a hospital, where he later died. His family said that Wakefield was on an upward trajectory in the music business. He was known as DJ Official and worked with artists such as Ty Dolla Sign, Tyga, Cardi B and others.  He was a father to a newborn son.

Last week, his mother, Vera Carter, sat quietly on her front porch asking: Why?

“I want to know who killed my son,” she said. “They just took my world.”

Wakefield got his start in music by deejaying parties with his friends in high school.

After graduating in 2010, he began working with rapper Joe Moses and the two went on three U.S. tours together.

“He was my producer, but over the years he became one of my best friends,” Moses said.

What stood out to Moses about Wakefield was his dogged work ethic.

“He wasn’t someone who didn’t know what he wanted to do in life,” Moses said. “He just wanted to make music to help take care of his family.”

As Wakefield became more popular, he never let fame go to his head, his friends and family said. He worked on Cardi B’s “Invasion of Privacy,” which won this year’s Grammy for best rap album, his family said.

He signed with 10 Summers Records, founded by DJ Mustard, the label confirmed. He was earning more royalties from his work and hired a lawyer to help him navigate the legal hazards of the music industry, his mother said.

“This was his time to shine and somebody took it away from him,” Vera Carter said.

In one of his last Instagram posts, Wakefield mourned the killing of rapper Nipsey Hussle, whose death also shocked the music industry.

Wakefield’s family said he had worked with Hussle, born Ermias Asghedom, shortly before he was shot in front of his Hyde Park clothing store on March 31.

Ty Dolla Sign wrote an emotional post on Instagram about Wakefield, calling him “a father, a successful producer, a solid homie who meant a lot to all of us.”

DJ Mustard also paid his respects on social media, saying in a recent post that Wakefield “wasn’t trying to do the right thing, he was doing the right thing.”

Vera Carter described their neighborhood as “close knit.”

“Everyone can’t understand, why would someone want to do something like this,” she said.

Her son’s routine was simple, his mother said. Wakefield spent most of his time working in the studio and hanging out with his girlfriend and son, who was born Jan. 30.

Arri Flournoy has known Wakefield since high school when he played music at parties. Each day after leaving her job, she comes to the scene of the shooting to pay her respects, tending to the growing tributes left by fans and organizing candles to spell out “DJ Official.”

The two were planning a joint birthday party next month, when Wakefield would have turned 27.

When he became more well-known, he didn't leave his group of high school friends behind, Flournoy said.

"If anything, he was taking us with him," she said.

Photo: Arri Flournoy, 26, arranges candles at a memorial for her friend Leslie Andre Wakefield Jr., a music producer known as DJ Official. Wakefield was fatally shot June 14. Credit: Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times

Contact the Homicide Report. Follow @nicolesantacruz and @latimeshomicide on Twitter.

Ronal Joseph Lawson, a 25-year-old blackmale, died Sunday, June 23, in Lancaster, according to Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner's records. The cause of death is pending.

Ivan Lee Harge, a 54-year-old blackmale, died Wednesday, June 19, after being shot in Westmont, according to Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner's records.

After nearly two months of testimony and deliberation, a judge declared a mistrial in the murder trial of Mongols Motorcycle Club member David Martinez on Friday after a jury deadlocked over whether Martinez acted in self defense when he shot and killed Pomona Police SWAT Officer Shaun Diamond in 2014. 

Speaking in clear, firm voices, the jury’s six men and six women confirmed that they had reached a unanimous verdict of not guilty in the first-degree murder charge against Martinez, but deadlocked 3 to 9, with 9 in favor of acquittal, on the charge of second-degree murder.

The jury never got past its deadlock to discuss the other two charges of voluntary manslaughter and assault on a police officer, the jury foreperson, identified only as Juror No. 3, told Judge Charlaine Olmedo in open court Friday afternoon.

The foreperson had tears in her eyes as she left the courtroom. Later, Juror No. 3 declined to give her name, but said she was frustrated the jury couldn’t acquit Martinez because three jury members were determined to find Martinez guilty because he was a member of the Mongols. 

The juror said she had close family members in law enforcement and struggled with the idea of acquitting a man who killed a police officer, “but I took an oath to be fair and impartial,” she said. “For me it didn’t matter if he was a Mongol. It was just, what makes the most sense, and what fits with the evidence.”

Martinez, who has been in custody since the shooting, will remain in jail as the attorneys decide their next steps. A hearing has been set for July 11 to consider new motions in the case.

Prosecutors Jack Garden and Michael Blake wouldn’t comment on the verdict. “The DA will make a decision about how we proceed,” Garden said.

Martinez’s attorney, Public Defender Brady Sullivan, said he would be requesting a motion to dismiss under Penal Code 1385, which allows the judge to dismiss a case “in the furtherance of justice.” 

Family and friends of Martinez and Diamond listened silently and mostly without expression during the proceedings. None was willing to comment.

Diamond, a popular and well-respected Pomona police officer, had been in law enforcement for 16 years when he was shot. He started with the L.A. and Montebello police departments before joining Pomona’s department in 2006 as a patrol officer. He became a member of the Pomona Police SWAT team in 2008, a job he loved, his daughter, Margo, said during a break in the trial.

He was shot as he and 13 other Pomona SWAT officers were pushing into Martinez’s small house in the 100 block of North San Marino Avenue in San Gabriel to serve a search warrant as part of a multi-agency operation targeting the Mongols Motorcycle Club.

Diamond was pronounced dead the following day from a single shotgun slug that entered at the back of his neck, severed his spinal cord and shattered his jaw.

Investigators testified that the shot also grazed the arm of Martinez’s father, Arturo.

Both the prosecution and defense agreed that when police entered the house less than a minute after the shooting, Martinez was lying on the floor, gun tossed aside, shouting, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were the police. I thought you were Mongols.”

But that was about the only point of agreement during six weeks of often contentious testimony. The jury faced a stark choice when the attorneys finished their closing statements in the early afternoon of June 21.

Did Martinez deliberately kill Diamond to enhance his reputation in the Mongols Motorcycle Club, and then quickly concoct an alibi, as the prosecution alleged, or did he shoot once in self defense, unaware that the people breaking into his house that morning were Pomona SWAT team members?

Martinez testified that he kept a loaded shotgun under his bed because he was worried about attacks by rival gang members and even some members of the Mongols, with whom he’d recently argued. He had stopped paying his dues, he testified and no longer rode his motorcycle after he was injured in a bad accident, but was afraid of reprisals if he actually tried to quit the club.

He said he never heard anything but a loud banging and the family’s four dogs barking when he ran to the living room with his fully loaded shotgun. He shouted futilely to his father, Arturo, to “Wait, wait” as his father opened the front door. He saw “shadows” outside, he said, and what appeared to be the barrel of a gun pointing inside, so he fired his gun.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Garden ridiculed the defense contention that Martinez didn’t hear the SWAT team announcement (“Pomona Police Department Search Warrant—Open the door!”) or recognize them as police.

Martinez was standing about 5 feet from the door when he fired his weapon, Garden said. The porch light was on, and the officers wore green jumpsuits with the word “POLICE” emblazoned in bright yellow letters.

“Officer Diamond was 6-2. He was a big guy,” Garden said. “How do you not see Officer Diamond on the porch with the light on?”

The prosecution insisted that Martinez started lying from the moment officers entered the house, and continued lying in jail, knowing he was being recorded by undercover officers. Garden said Martinez also lied about his fear of the Mongols, accepting $300 from the club president while he was in jail, and is still a member today.

“Don’t fall for his manipulation” Garden said in his closing statement. “He’s a Mongol, a manipulator and a murderer.”

But Public Defender Sullivan said officers testified that they entered the house about 15 seconds after the shooting and it was “ridiculous” to think that Martinez concocted an alibi in that short time, in the midst of the chaos and his father’s injury.

And while the house may be small enough to fit in the courtroom, he said, investigators ran tests at the house and couldn’t prove the officers’ announcements could be heard in the bedroom over the banging and dogs barking.

“If David is this crazed Mongol who came up to the door with his shotgun loaded with 14 bullets, why did he only shoot one?” Sullivan said. “If someone is that crazy, that he’s going to open fire on the police, with his family all around him, why wouldn’t he keep shooting?”

Prosecutors couldn’t prove that Martinez knew he was shooting at the police, Sullivan said, so they “demonized” him as a member of the Mongols.

“They can’t accept that this shooting would not have happened but for the tactical mistakes of the Pomona police,” Sullivan said in his closing statement.

The operation was poorly planned, he said, since officers didn’t realize how difficult it would be to open the locked gate, and their banging, as they tried to break the lock, caused the noise that drowned out their announcements.

“The break-in was not necessary,” Sullivan said. “They don’t want to admit that the police messed up here.”

Richard Mendoza Jr., a 36-year-old Latinomale, died Thursday, June 27, after being shot in Compton, according to Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner's records.

Paul David Rea, a 18-year-old Latinomale, died Thursday, June 27, after being shot in East Los Angeles, according to Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner's records.

Daniel Ma, a 28-year-old Latinomale, died Friday, June 28, in Baldwin Park, according to Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner's records. The cause of death is pending.

Paul Edward Foster, a 50-year-old blackmale, died Friday, June 28, after being shot in Hawthorne, according to Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner's records.

David Peter Juarez, a 31-year-old Latinomale, died Friday, June 28, after being shot in South San Jose Hills, according to Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner's records.

Samuel Wayne Butler, a 35-year-old whitemale, died Saturday, June 29, after being shot in San Pedro, according to Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner's records.

Christopher Campbell, a 23-year-old Latinomale, died Saturday, June 29, after being stabbed in Westmont, according to Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner's records.

Richard Tovalin, a 31-year-old Latinomale, died Sunday, June 30, after being shot in La Puente, according to Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner's records.

Luis Paul Rivera, a 40-year-old Latinomale, died Monday, July 1, in La Puente, according to Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner's records. The cause of death is pending.

Rickie Cornell Starks, a 65-year-old blackmale, died Wednesday, July 3, in Compton, according to Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner's records. The cause of death is pending.