[July 22, 2011] Modesto men will stand trial for murder in 2010 Ceres killing Tweet Jul 21, 2011 (The Modesto Bee - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- A judge on Thursday ruled two men must stand trial on murder charges in the fatal shooting of a 20-year-old Modesto man killed in broad daylight in the middle of a busy intersection in Ceres last year. Primitivo Guizar and Enrique Alonso Valadez, both of Modesto, are accused in the drive-by shooting death of Amadeo Avalos, who was killed Jan. 11, 2010, while driving a red pickup near East Whitmore Avenue and Morgan Road. Attorneys on both sides have agreed Guizar was the shooter and Valadez drove the car. Judge Scott Steffen also ruled to dismiss a charge of being an accessory for a third defendant, Heliberto Sanchez Guizar, who is Primitivo Guizar's brother. He was not facing any other charges. Steffen said there was not enough evidence to indicate Heliberto Sanchez Guizar was helping his brother avoid arrest. Authorities have said the shooting was revenge for a home invasion robbery committed by Avalos' sister, Patricia Avalos, who has since been convicted of home invasion robbery and first-degree burglary. She is serving a 21-year prison sentence. Two days after the robbery, authorities have said, the family of Avalos' victims took the law into their own hands. The victims were Primitivo Guizar's relatives. Deputy District Attorney Jared Carrillo told the judge Primitivo Guizar's family discussed how to retrieve the stolen property. Primitivo Guizar and two others went to the Avalos family home and offered the father cash and a promise not to seek criminal charges if he returned the stolen cash and jewelry. Carrillo said the trio noticed a parked red pickup at the home and its license plate number. The family then conducted surveillance of the red pickup. Carrillo told the judge that Lucila Sanchez, Primitivo Guizar's sister, spotted the pickup traveling on East Whitmore and informed her brother the pickup was heading his way. A security camera captured the black car pull out of a nearby gas station shortly before the shooting. Carrillo said a witness spotted the car weave through traffic and pull alongside the red pickup. "Knowing negotiations (to retrieve the stolen property) were off, (Primitivo Guizar) shot Amadeo Avalos to instill fear in the Avalos family," Carrillo argued. Robert Chase, Primitivo Guizar's defense attorney, argued the brazen home invasion robbery provoked his client into irrationallly responding with violence. On Jan. 9, 2010, Patricia Avalos forced her way into the home on Eureka Street in south Modesto armed with a semiautomatic handgun. Patricia Avalos held all of the victims inside the home, including a 2-year-old girl, at gunpoint, threatening to kill them if they moved. With help from four unidentified accomplices, Avalos took as much as $250,000 in cash and jewelry and said she would be coming back for more, according to authorities. "A cold, calculated home invasion robbery by Patricia Avalos," Chase argued. "Money was taken, but more importantly they were invaded." Carrillo argued Primitivo Guizar had about 45 hours to cool-off after the home-invasion robbery. The prosecutor said Guizar "had $250,000 worth of reason to put pressure on the Avalos family." Valadez was a friend of Guizar's family and knew about the robbery, Carrillo argued, therefore he is part of the plot to shoot Amadeo Avalos. He said Valadez knew Guizar had a gun in the black car and drove up alongside the red pickup before the shooting. Michael Scheid, Valadez's defense attorney, told the judge his client did not participate in the alleged family meeting and did not discuss the alleged shooting plot. Lucila Sanchez also has been charged with murder in Amadeo Avalos' death. She declined to waive her right to a speedy trial, and her preliminary hearing was held in October. She now awaits trial. The judge announced his rulings Thursday after listening to two days of testimony in this preliminary hearing. Steffen scheduled the defendants to return to court Aug. 1 for an arraignment hearing. Bee staff writer Rosalio Ahumada can be reached at [email protected] or (209)578-2394. To see more of The Modesto Bee, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.modbee.com/. Copyright (c) 2011, The Modesto Bee, Calif. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]