LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Last week a man convicted of a 1998 murder in Clearlake was denied parole for five years.
The Board of Parole Hearings denied parole for convicted murderer Richard Lugo Guerrero, age 51, of Clearlake during the hearing on Thursday, June 9.
Deputy District Attorney Art Grothe attended the lifer hearing to argue against Guerrero’s release.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Hinchcliff said Guerrero was found guilty by a jury on April 13, 2000, of the second-degree murder of Mark Anthony Boyer, 29. The jury also found the special allegation that Guerrero used a gun and caused great bodily injury or death to be true.
Guerrero was originally prosecuted by District Attorney Stephen O. Hedstrom.
On May 19, 2000, Guerrero was sentenced to 44 years to life by Judge David W. Herrick.
At the sentencing hearing, Judge David Herrick said he had not seen or noticed any remorse by Guerrero, and noted that Guerrero continued to deny committing the offense. The judge also indicated that he could not understand why Guerrero killed the victim.
Before the murder, Guerrero had been convicted of a felony robbery in Texas, several drunken driving cases in California, and resisting arrest and marijuana possession.
According to investigation reports, on Nov. 15, 1998, the Clearlake Police Department received a report of four to five gunshots being heard in the vicinity of All American Video on Lakeshore Drive. When officers arrived they found Boyer deceased.
Approximately 30 minutes before the shooting, there was a disturbance involving 25 people at the Chart House Bar. During that disturbance, a police officer observed Mark Boyer walking with another male seated in a wheelchair.
After the shooting, investigators determined the person seated in the wheelchair was Esa Jacobo, an individual known to officers. Investigators also identified the person pushing the wheelchair as Richard Guerrero.
Further investigation turned up witnesses who indicated Guerrero was the individual who shot the victim. Jacobo eventually informed officers the weapon used to shoot the victim belonged to Jacobo’s stepfather, and was hidden behind a refrigerator in Jacobo’s residence.
During the investigation Guerrero denied shooting the victim, but eventually told officers, “I did it.”
A forensic pathology examination determined Boyer was shot six times.
At the parole hearing, Hinchcliff said the parole commissioners discussed Guerrero’s conduct and history while being incarcerated in the state prison system.
His history of rules violations while in prison indicated Guerrero had been in possession of drug paraphernalia and weapons, and promoted gang activity.
At the conclusion of the hearing, after arguments from Guerrero’s attorney as to why he should be paroled and from Deputy District Attorney Art Grothe as to why he should not be paroled, the parole commissioners issued a five-year denial of parole, Hinchcliff said.
Hinchcliff said Guerrero will receive another parole hearing some time in 2027.
Parole denied for man convicted of 1998 Clearlake murder
- DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE
- Posted On