Road rage trial takes off again

"I need the jury not to forget about him," Gardener said of her resolve.

Yesterday, Karen and John Gardner and members of their family filled the right side of a courtroom for what they hope is a second chance at justice. On the left side sat the mothers of defendants Tito Sedeno, 22, and John Navarro, 23, now both older than the Pacifica man they are accused of murdering.

Aside from the new jury panel, much is a repeat performance in the re-trial: the judge, the attorneys, the defendants being tried together, the expected evidence and the conflicting testimony of prosecution witness Richard Sedillo and defense witness Lois Buenaflor.

In the jury box, 14 new faces - 12 women - watched attorneys outline their case and in the audience, the loved ones of all involved hope for an outcome different than the mistrial declared four months ago. That deadlock ended eight days of contentious deliberations, marked by internal threats and few changes in voting. The standstill also meant a delay in closure.

"I though it would be easier since I've already heard [the testimony and evidence] before but it's not," Karen Gardner said during a break in opening statements.

Road rage shooting

Gardner died Jan. 12, 2003 from a single shot to the back of the head. He 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.

The men were coming from a birthday party in San Francisco where they'd been drinking. Photos from the celebration are expected to be used again to help identify who was in the SUV later that evening and where they were seated.

Gardner's driver honked as he tried to pass the weaving SUV which sparked a hail of bullets, said prosecutor Sean Gallagher. One passed through the passenger headrest into Gardner.

Jeffrey Chin, Gardner's close friend, testified yesterday about seeing an arm extend from the SUV with a gun followed by noises and flashes. As the SUV fled south on Interstate 280, Gardner's friends went north toward a nearby hospital. He was dead but kept on life support until his parents could return from a weekend trip to say farewell and donate his organs.

Daly City police arrested the defendants and Sedillo hours later after spotting them at a Denny's restaurant and chasing them at high speeds throughout the Bay Area into San Francisco.

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.

During her opening remarks yesterday, Sedeno's defense attorney Mara Feiger told jurors that the casings weren't necessarily all from the shooting. She also pointed out that towing and a CHP search for a weapon disturbed the crime scene inside the SUV.

Conflicting testimony

The first trial 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. Gallagher admitted Sedillo was an unsavory character but said that should not take away from the truth of his testimony - placing guns in both defendants' hands but not his own.

Feiger offered Lois Buenaflor, a diagnosed schizophrenic who also claimed to be a passenger in the Tahoe. Feiger admitted Buenaflor was far from an ideal witness but asked jurors to believe her tale of watching the shooting and later having Sedillo aim a similar gun at her forehead.

Buenaflor's testimony was videotaped during the fist trial because of her penchant for pregnant pauses and wandering off topic. The same tape will be shown to the new jury.

Defense attorney Myra Weiher, representing Navarro, tried unsuccessfully to get a separate trial for her client because she balked at the testimony of both Sedillo and Buenaflor. On Wednesday, she did not offer an opening statement but reserved the right to deliver it at a later time.

At the close of the first trial, Navarro's mother Yvonne Pacheco maintained her son's innocence and that Gallagher simply refuses to admit he is prosecuting the wrong person.

Jury problems

The first five-man, seven-woman jury sent Judge Joseph Bergeron 22 notes with questions and warnings that they were hopelessly deadlocked on one count of first-degree murder and three counts of attempted murder.

During deliberations, multiple jurors sent out notes asking if a juror could be removed for refusing to deliberate any further. Earlier in the process, two female jurors reportedly came close to a confrontation and threatened each other.

For the new panel, attorneys spent two weeks picking a jury plus four alternates. Jurors will not learn who is in which role until the testimony is completed.

Navarro and Sedeno both remain in custody on no-bail status. The prosecution continues its case this morning.

Michelle Durand can be reached by e-mail: michelle@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 104. What do you think of this story? Send a letter to the editor: letters@smdailyjournal.com.