- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
Clearlake murder suspects set for Oct. 30 preliminary hearing; fundraisers planned for victim's family
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The man accused of randomly shooting to death a father of four in Clearlake last month and three others charged with being his accomplices are set to go to preliminary hearing later this month.
The preliminary hearing for Joshua Robert Beavers, 24, of Clearlake is set for Oct. 30, according to Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Hinchcliff.
Beavers is accused of shooting to death 29-year-old Clearlake resident David Ferrell on Sept. 8.
Beavers is charged with murder, attempted murder, assault with a firearm, discharging a firearm in a grossly negligent manner, assault with a semiautomatic firearm and carrying a loaded handgun in a vehicle or public place, and a host of special allegations for the shooting.
He pleaded not guilty to all of the counts last month.
Three other individuals who were allegedly with him at the time of the shooting or who helped harbor him also were arrested, including Orlando Esquivel Sr., 48, and his wife, 50-year-old Angel Aileen Esquivel, and Brenden Alicea, 26.
The Esquivels and Alicea are each charged with a count of conspiracy. They also have pleaded not guilty in the case.
While Hinchcliff has charged all four separately in the case, he said he plans to try to have their preliminary hearing conducted together on Oct. 30.
Ferrell was at his home in the area of 19th and Gardner avenues with friends and family on Sept. 8, celebrating his eldest daughter's birthday, when Beavers drove to the neighborhood to look for a man with whom he had fought earlier in the day, according to police.
Ferrell had nothing to do with Beavers or the earlier fight, police said. Yet Beavers is alleged to have begun randomly shooting with a .22-caliber semiautomatic handgun, striking Ferrell in the head and killing him instantly.
Felicia Vance, Ferrell's wife, told Lake County News that she was in the house when she heard the gunfire.
When she went outside, she found her husband lying on the ground, and said she saw Beavers, Alicea and Orlando Esquivel Sr. giving each other high fives and “laughing like what they did didn't matter.”
She said she yelled that she was calling 911, and that more shots subsequently were fired, striking Rachel Patterson and Paul Cressy, who were standing near her. Patterson and Cressy did not suffer life-threatening injuries, according to police.
Beavers remains in custody, with bail set at $2.9 million. Alicea and the Esquivels also remain in jail, with bail for each now $250,000, according to jail records.
A raffle and bake sale fundraiser to benefit Ferrell's widow and children is being held from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday at Ray's Food Place, 15930 Dam Road in Clearlake.
For those who can't make the event but would like to donate, an online fundraiser is available at http://www.gofundme.com/4phkao , and donations also can be made at Mendo Lake Credit Union, Account No. 70002726.
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