Iraq war vet convicted of gunning down couple

A jury today found a Fort Carson soldier guilty on all counts in a pair of drive-by shootings that left two people dead and one injured.

The eight-woman, four-man jury took nearly seven hours to find Jomar Falu-Vives, a 25-year-old Iraq war veteran, guilty of first-degree murder in the June 6, 2008, deaths of Amairany “Mayra” Cervantes, 18 and Cesar Ramirez-Ibanez, 20. The couple was placing garage sale signs in their southeast Colorado Springs neighborhood when they were shot to death.

The jury also found Falu-Vives guilty of attempted murder of two fellow soldiers, one of whom was injured in a May 26, 2008, drive-by shooting.

Two of the high-velocity bullets hit Lt. Zachary A. Szody, shattering his leg. The bullets missed Sgt. William Jacobs, who said he saw the muzzle flash coming from the rear passenger window of a passing white sedan.

The guilty verdict means Falu-Vives will face a pair of mandatory life sentences in prison without parole when he is sentenced by 4th Judicial District Judge Thomas L. Kennedy on Thursday.

Falu-Vives’ attorneys had no comment following the verdict.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Diana K. May met with the jury and the victims after the verdict.

“We’re just pleased that justice was served today for all four victims and we can’t thank the jury enough for their time,” May said.

Falu-Vives was a scout in the 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry, a group of 500 soldiers that nicknamed themselves the “Lethal Warriors.” The battalion, which has accounted for half of Fort Carson’s combat losses, has become a symbol of the trauma the war has inflicted on troops and the violence that has followed them after returning to the U.S.

The vast majority of the Lethal Warriors have not committed crimes, but in a one-year period from the fall of 2007 to the fall of 2008, the murder rate for the unit was 114 times the rate for Colorado Springs. Lethal Warriors also have been involved in brawls, beatings, rapes, DUIs, drug deals, domestic violence, shootings, stabbings, kidnapping and suicides.

The verdict capped a three-week long trial in which the central issue was who pulled the trigger of Falu-Vives’ AK-47.

Defense attorneys conceded the murder weapon belonged to their client. But they argued the gunman was Alonso “Turtle” Hernandez, a former Army medic who was riding in the front passenger seat on the night of the double homicide.

Hernandez was one of four witnesses who identified Falu-Vives as the shooter. Hernandez testified that Falu-Vives was in the driver’s seat when he pointed the AK-47 out the front passenger window.

Hernandez wept as he described his guilt over not pushing the gun away or using his medic training to render aid. Instead he shielded his face with his hands as the hot shell casings tumbled against him.

Defense attorney Ernest Marquez argued that the fatal shots were fired at an angle that would have been impossible for the driver to make. He confronted Hernandez directly on the witness stand.

“You’re the one who shot these people,” Marquez said.

“No sir,” Hernandez replied.

 Another former soldier, Rudy Torres-Gandarilla, also testified against Falu-Vives. Torres-Gandarilla said he saw Falu-Vives open fire with his AK-47 in both drive-by shootings. Torres-Gandarilla pleaded guilty to being an accessory to those crimes and was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

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