VENTURA : Gang Member Pleads Guilty in Slaying

A 21-year-old Oxnard gang member pleaded guilty Thursday to second-degree murder in connection with a fatal Ventura motel shooting last year.

Shaun Bolo became the third defendant convicted in the case when he entered his plea before Superior Court Judge Charles R. McGrath, who must hand down a sentence of 16 years to life in prison under state law. Sentencing is set Dec. 15.

Paul Martinez, 21, of Whittier was gunned down Dec. 18 on the second-floor balcony of the Motel 6 on Johnson Road. Prosecutors charged Bolo; his brother, Willard, 23, and Steve Hidalgo, 20, with murder. All were either members or associates of the same Oxnard gang, police said.

Hidalgo pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and is serving a sentence of 18 years to life. Naomi Honohan, a 20-year-old former Channel Islands High School cheerleader and honor student, received two years in prison for accessory to murder.

Authorities said Martinez was shot after getting into an argument with Honohan, Shaun Bolo’s girlfriend, who was attending a party in a room at the motel. Martinez was attending a separate party there.

Charles L. Cassy, Shaun Bolo’s lawyer, said his client pleaded guilty to being armed during the murder but not to actually firing a shot at Martinez.

“Basically, he was an aider and abettor,” Cassy said.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Matthew J. Hardy said Shaun Bolo drove the vehicle from which the fatal shots were fired.