Life for road rage killers

Judge Joseph Bergeron agreed with the randomness of the death, noting that "but for 15 or 20 seconds none of us had to be here.”

That moment in the early hours of Jan. 12, 2003 left Gardner, 22, dead from a single shot to the back of the head and Tito Sedeno and John Navarro, both 23, looking at decades in prison on murder, attempted murder and firearms convictions. Gardner’s death also left his parents without the joy of seeing their only son age, have children or realize his dream of opening a martial arts studio, the family said Friday.

Prior to Bergeron sentencing the San Francisco men to multiple life sentences plus decades of enhancements for using a firearm, Gardner’s mother, Karen, asked for the strictest term possible.

"That’s what you’re given us — a life of pain and misery,” she said in a shaking voice, wearing both a T-shirt and pin bearing her smiling son’s face.

Navarro and Sedeno were also ordered to pay restitution, including more than $28,000 to San Francisco General Hospital where Gardner donated his organs and was declared dead.

Family and supporters of Navarro and Sedeno filled the courtroom behind them but none addressed the court. Yvonne Pacheco, Navarro’s mother, declined comment after the hearing but comforted the other emotional attendees. The pair have 60 days to file an appeal.

Defense attorneys Myra Weiher and Mara Feiger asked for a new trial before sentencing but Bergeron declined. The defense argued their clients did not receive a fair trial because they considered evidence of alleged gang affiliation and one juror was intoxicated during the proceedings. Bergeron agreed with prosecutor Sean Gallagher that there was no evidence Juror 16 was inebriated but not before Feiger characterized her as a "dyed-in-the-wool flaming alcoholic who kept a cooler in her trunk as her daddy taught her to do.”

Feiger also claimed a juror had an obvious problem with the defense which biased her verdict.

"In 16 years of doing jury trials, I have never had a juror mad dog or stare me down,” Feiger said.

Gallagher described the alleged 45-second staring contest as "something that existed in counsel’s mind.”

The full audience sat for an hour through the new motion request before three members of Gardner’s family addressed the court and Bergeron imposed sentence. The hearing ended nearly three years of arrests, hearings, two jury trials and claims of juror misconduct.

Gardner was sleeping in the passenger seat of a friend’s car as they and two others in another vehicle drove home from San Jose. On Interstate 380, they encountered a Chevrolet Tahoe driven by Sedeno and carrying Navarro and Richard Sedillo. According to Gallagher, Gardner’s driver honked as he tried to pass the weaving SUV which sparked a hail of bullets. One passed through the passenger headrest into Gardner. Daly City police arrested the defendants and Sedillo hours later after spotting them at a Denny’s restaurant and chasing them throughout the Bay Area into San Francisco.

During sentencing Friday, Bergeron characterized it as "the most remarkable chase around the Bay I’ve ever heard of.”

Sedillo was released after authorities decided he was not involved in the shooting. No weapons were ever recovered but 13 bullet casings were picked up from the freeway and vehicle.

The first trial in early 2005 took an odd twist when the conflicting testimony of each side’s key witness was offered to jurors. Sedillo, himself a felon, took the stand for the prosecution. Feiger offered Lois Buenaflor, a diagnosed schizophrenic who also claimed to be a passenger in the Tahoe. On April 13, after eight days of contentious deliberations marked by rumors that jurors nearly came to blows, Bergeron declared a mistrial.

In August, Navarro and Sedeno stood trial again and were convicted after two weeks of deliberation. The verdict came in only hours after the jury foreperson told the judge the panel was locked 11-1 on all counts but the gun charge. The jury gave it a few more hours and by the end of the day even the lone holdout returned a verdict of guilty.

Yesterday three jurors returned to watch sentencing, the first opportunity for most to learn about the victim. Gardner’s family and first martial arts coach spoke of his popularity, respect and dreams of opening his own studio. His grandmother told the men convicted of killing him they probably would have liked him. At the very least, she said, they would have respected him and was no match for his martial arts skills had they encountered him on the street.

While Gardner’s family spoke of forgiveness and the years the defendants have to change their lives, Robert Mashmeier was not as kind.

"I would like to see you guys suffer every day of your lives ... because you deserve it,” said Gardner’s first martial arts instructor from age 6.

After the hearing, Karen Gardner said she was working on forgiveness but finally felt a sense of closure. She planned to visit her son’s grave Friday night and toast him with sake, his favorite drink.

"I can finally tell him justice was served,” she said.

Michelle Durand can be reached by e-mail: michelle@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 102. What do you think of this story? Send a letter to the editor: letters@smdailyjournal.com.