Trial wraps up for San Mateo homicide shooting case

Reupena previously testified that he had driven to San Mateo from Los Angeles to talk to Lasi Jr. about his brother Lewis Reupena’s August 2020 murder. He shot Lasi Jr. after Lasi Jr. allegedly threatened him by saying “f— your brother. ... I got something for you too, b—,” and then quickly walked back to his car, making the defendant fear for his life, he said.

But prosecutor Josh Stauffer, who said Lasi Jr.’s alleged last words don’t “make sense logically,” as no gun was found in his vehicle, maintained the shooting was the final, intentional act of a conspiracy to kill the victim.

Lewis Reupena’s family and friends wrongly believed Lasi Jr. to be responsible for his prior killing after conducting their own investigation into his death, Stauffer said.

“This is a conspiracy to commit murder, a conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. They must want that person dead. They wanted retaliation,” he said.

The prosecution showed several texts between Amanda Young, Lewis Reupena’s girlfriend, and her friends, allegedly conspiring to murder Lasi Jr. Young is being tried separately for the killing on murder and conspiracy charges.

“So there’s gonna be another body soon for our brother,” one text to Young, sent by a friend in the days after Lewis Reupena’s murder, read. “Plan is in motion,” Young texted another family member who was checking in to see if the family had identified Lewis Reupena’s killer, per Stauffer’s opening statements.

Defense attorney Ross Greene emphasized other factors while making his client’s case for self-defense.

“Unless you find the defendant guilty of first-degree murder, there is no conspiracy to commit murder,” he said.

Greene said that Isaiah Reupena acted reasonably given he believed the victim was about to attack him, a fear bolstered by Lasi Jr.’s alleged gang affiliations and rap music, where he repeatedly sang about guns and staying armed.

Greene played several of Lasi Jr.’s songs for the jury, including one called “Kill Switch,” highlighting lyrics like “six shot snub on my lap” and “pushin’ through your city with an AK,” all of which pointed to a reasonable assumption he had a gun at the time of the murder, Greene said.

“Again and again, [he’s] telling the world who he is, telling everyone, telling the world, he keeps a gun on him,” he said, additionally highlighting other social media posts with gang or violence-related sentiment. “These are all facts that are known to my client, and you need to factor that in.”

The argument drew ire from some members of the crowd watching the closing arguments — “it’s just music,” one individual shouted out in response — as well as criticism from Stauffer during his rebuttal.

“Not a single one of those lyrics has anything to do with the death,” he said.

The defense also presented an argument for imperfect self-defense, which means the jury doesn’t need to find Isaiah Reupena acted objectively in defending himself but that he did truthfully believe he was in imminent danger. Greene also suggested the jury could find Isiah Reupena was acting in the heat of passion and was provoked to kill.

“He was provoked by Mr. Lasi, and he acted rashly, and he shot him and he killed him,” Greene said.

Stauffer said that evidence of Isaiah Reupena planning for the alleged murder — including the unlicensed car he paid $3,500 to drive at the time of the alleged crime — were ignored by the defense.

“He has to ignore the facts that will not fit into the mold of the defense the defendant has come up with,” he said.

None of the witnesses saw the start of the altercation, Greene said during his closing arguments, calling into question the legitimacy of witness testimonies around Isaiah Reupena’s attire and positioning at the time of the murder.

The jury went into deliberation beginning Wednesday to determine whether Reupena is guilty of first-degree murder, second-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter or not guilty in totality.