LAKEPORT, Calif. – After just four and a half hours of deliberation on Wednesday, a jury convicted a Clearlake man on all counts in a September 2013 shooting that killed one man and injured two other people.
Joshua Robert Beavers, 28, was convicted of fatally shooting 29-year-old David Ferrell, a husband and father of four, in front of Ferrell’s home on Sept. 8, 2013, according to Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Hinchcliff.
“He was found guilty of second-degree murder, which is what we were seeking,” said Hinchcliff, who prosecuted the case.
Beavers was defended at trial by defense attorneys Edward Savin and Andrea Sullivan.
“Mr. Savin and I are disappointed with the second-degree murder conviction,” Sullivan told Lake County News. “However we think it is significant that the prosecutor removed first-degree murder from the jury's consideration, and I have a firm belief that Mr. Beavers never intended to hurt or much less kill anyone on the date of the incident.”
In addition to killing Ferrell, Beavers shot Ferrell’s friends Paul Cressy and Rachel Patterson as he fled from the scene.
The jury convicted him of attempted murder for shooting Cressy and Patterson, and further found that Beavers had premeditated and deliberated in shooting them, which results in life sentences for those counts, Hinchcliff said.
Hinchcliff said Beavers also was found guilty of assault with a firearm on Ferrell, Patterson and Cressy; discharge of a firearm in a grossly negligent manner; unlawfully carrying a loaded firearm on one’s person or in a vehicle; and unlawfully possessing a short-barreled shotgun.
He said the jury also found true the many special allegations attached to those main charges, such as firearm use and inflicting great bodily injury.
Hinchcliff said he hasn’t calculated the total prison term Beavers could face, but he estimated it could be at least 60 years to life.
Jury selection had begun on May 10, with testimony beginning on June 7.
Conflicts lead to shootings
During the trial, Beavers himself took the stand, discussing his childhood spent in the foster care system because of his mother’s drug abuse.
It was while he was in foster care that he met Cameron Fallis, who he befriended. Beavers also later would become close with Fallis’ mother, Angel Esquivel, who worked at a Ukiah home for foster children.
Based on testimony during trial, the difficult relationship between Cameron Fallis and his mother, who lost custody of him, would lead to disagreements and friction that would later involve Beavers, who came to see Angel Esquivel and her husband, Orlando Esquivel Sr., as parents.
The defense would point to another factor in the case: the involvement of the Esquivels, Fallis and Beavers in the marijuana growing trade, which the defense told the jury is known for its violence.
In this case, Beavers had accused Fallis of not properly carrying out his duties for a grower. Testimony at court also indicated that there was anger directed at Fallis for working on the behalf of other marijuana growers and not his parents.
The Esquivels were with Beavers when he confronted and assaulted Fallis near Ray’s Food Place in Clearlake on the morning of the shooting.
Later, following a series of phone calls between Beavers, Fallis and Ferrell, Beavers went to the Esquivels’ home. Angel Esquivel and his friend David Cunningham testified that he retrieved a .22-caliber Ruger handgun that he put in his waistband and a .410 sawed-off shotgun that he gave to Cunningham. Beavers testified that Angel Esquivel handed them the guns.
Then Beavers, Cunningham, the Esquivels and another man, Brenden Alicea, drove in the Esquivels’ van to the home of Ferrell, who had told both Beavers and Fallis that he wanted to see them sort out their issues, one on one. Fallis was staying in a travel trailer on Ferrell’s property.
Following a brief discussion in front of Ferrell’s home at 19th and Gardner, Fallis testified that Beavers pulled out the handgun and shot Ferrell once in the face. Medical examiner Dr. Ikechi Ogan testified that Ferrell died almost instantly from the gunshot wound.
Beavers said he pulled out the handgun after Ferrell lunged at him from a distance of about 5 to 6 feet. The defense maintained that Ferrell had a weight bar in his hand that he was wielding as a weapon.
Those statements contracted the testimony of Cunningham, who testified that Ferrell had nothing in his hand. The defense had faulted Cunningham for changing his story after originally telling police that Ferrell was armed.
To refute Beavers’ testimony that he had been able to draw the gun and shoot Ferrell after he claimed Ferrell lunged at him from such a close distance, Hinchcliff put the case’s investigating officer, Clearlake Police Det. Ryan Peterson – who had testified earlier at trial – back on the stand.
Peterson explained the “Tueller rule,” which has shown that an assailant can travel 21 feet to attack a police officer before the officer can draw a weapon.
After shooting Ferrell, Beavers turned and ran back to the van, shooting as he went. He claimed he felt surrounded and was shooting at trees, but he hit Cressy in the elbow, shattering it. Patterson suffered a minor wound in her side.
Orlando Esquivel Sr. would hide the pistol and after Beavers returned to the Esquivel home, his girlfriend, the Esquivels’ daughter, shaved off his long hair and they gave him different clothes. Nevertheless, Beavers, the Esquivels and Alicea were arrested within hours.
The Esquivels and Alicea served time in jail for acting as accessories. Cunningham was arrested in December 2013 and continues to serve time in state prison, also working as an inmate firefighter, due to being convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm for the role he played in the case.
Jury deliberations and upcoming sentencing
After weeks of testimony, closing arguments began on Friday and wrapped up on Wednesday morning.
The case was then handed to the jury to begin deliberations at about 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Hinchcliff said.
The jury deliberated until noon, took a lunch break until 1:30 p.m., then returned with a verdict at 4:30 p.m. Hinchcliff said the verdict was read at about 4:45 p.m.
For her part, Sullivan said, “This is an unfortunate case where several individuals were involved, several witnesses changed their testimony from their original statement to police officers with regard to whether or not Mr. Ferrell had a weapon in his hand, which I believe contributed to the verdict.”
Hinchcliff praised the jurors for their work on the case. “This is long trial and there were a lot of delays.”
He said they selected a total of 16 jurors and lost only one, who moved from the county. The remaining jurors showed up dutifully, with none of them calling in sick at any point. “They were all really dedicated people.”
Hinchcliff also praised Peterson, the case’s investigating officer, for doing a fantastic job. Peterson had been present throughout the trial, giving testimony on more than one occasion, sitting alongside Hinchcliff at the prosecution table and supervising key pieces of evidence, including the firearms and the weight bar.
Beavers is scheduled for judgment and sentencing on Sept. 18 before Judge Andrew Blum, who presided over the trial, Hinchcliff said.
However, Hinchcliff said the filing of new trial motions – which is common in such cases – could change that.
Sullivan said that on Wednesday she and Savin haven’t yet been able to discuss a new trial motion.
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Jury convicts Clearlake man of murder in 2013 shooting case
- Elizabeth Larson
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