The case against twenty four year old Brian Herrera charged for the 2005 murder of Eugene Whyte Encalada aka “Witch” may have been based on only circumstantial evidence but today a twelve member jury found him guilty. But in mid-deliberation the jurors had to break and go back to the judge for instruction. According to court reports the delay may have been caused by the fact that the gunman who police claim to be Brian Herrera wore a black ski mask and none of the witnesses for the prosecution who testified during the trial were able to identify the accused as the gunman before they left the stand.
However, it is believed that the jury’s decision of a guilty verdict was based on the testimony given by Corporal Ivan Galvez. According to court reports, Corporal Galvez was on duty around nine thirty on the night of October seventeenth, 2005 when he took a break and as he was driving on Euphrates Avenue he heard shots coming from the direction of ‘Kick Down Fence.’
According to Corporal Galvez’s testimony, that is when he saw a man wearing a ski mask riding fast on his bicycle. The man jumped over a fence to get away from the cop but at that time Corporal Galvez was assisted by Sergeant Henry Jermott who later caught the same person Corporal Galvez was able to identify as the individual he saw wearing a mask. One of the witnesses who testified told the court that as he was talking with Brian Herrera, a man who wore a mask rode up to Herrera and shot him twice.
Besides being found guilty for the murder of Eugene Whyte encalada, Brian Herrera is presently serving a three year jail term for keeping unlicensed ammunition. His three year sentence would have concluded on October 2010. On June ninth Brian Herrera will be sentenced for the murder of Eugene Whyte Encalada.
