Teen Faces 4-Year CYA Term for Spree

A 17-year-old Camarillo boy who admitted participating in a deadly crime spree faces a four-year term in the California Youth Authority when he is sentenced later this month, prosecutors said.

Jose Espinoza pleaded guilty to being an accessory to murder, committing a drive-by shooting and robbery Tuesday during a hearing in Ventura County Juvenile Court. He is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 28.

Prosecutors dropped their bid to try Espinoza as an adult in exchange for the guilty pleas in Juvenile Court. He faced a much stiffer sentence if he were found guilty of the same crimes as an adult.

Espinoza and three other youths are accused of participating in a 45-minute crime spree Dec. 3 that started with an attempted robbery of a Camarillo fast-food restaurant and culminated with the random slaying of a 25-year-old Moorpark motorist.

Michael Castro, 20, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder last month and admitted fatally shooting Jesus Zamudio Manjarrez. He is scheduled to be sentenced in March.

Jose Duarte, 17, and Arturo Contreras, 18, both of Camarillo, have both denied involvement in the spree. Contreras is also charged with murder because prosecutors allege that he was the driver of the car that carried the other gang members.

Duarte is charged with robbing a man outside a Somis market during the spree. He is the county’s youngest person to be tried under the state’s “three-strikes” law and faces a minimum sentence of 25 years in prison if convicted. He is scheduled to enter a plea today.