Frank Moreno Brady, aged 35, tragically lost his life on July 18, 2016, in Garden Grove, California. The incident occurred in the parking lot of a business located at Harbor Boulevard and Trask Avenue. Brady was shot multiple times in the chest with a semi-automatic handgun and was pronounced dead at UC Irvine Medical Center. The shooting took place just before noon, and surveillance footage captured a gray SUV fleeing the scene shortly after the incident.
The investigation into Brady's
death led authorities to identify Richard Adrian "Joker" Trevino as the primary suspect. Trevino, aged 40 at the time, was believed to have shot Brady during an argument in the parking lot. The Garden Grove Police Department, along with several other law enforcement agencies, conducted an extensive investigation that included numerous surveillances and the collaboration of multiple units such as the Crimes Against Person unit, Career Criminal Apprehension Team, and Special Investigations unit.
On August 19, 2016, a vehicle connected to Trevino was tracked crossing into Mexico. With the assistance of U.S. marshals and Mexican federal police, Trevino was located and detained in Tecate, Mexico, on August 22, 2016. He was subsequently handed over to U.S. marshals in Calexico and then arrested by Garden Grove police officers. Trevino was booked at Orange County Jail on suspicion of homicide and held in lieu of $1 million bail.
The trial for Trevino began in October 2019. During the trial, Deputy District Attorney Nick Thomo presented evidence linking Trevino to both the Garden Grove shooting and a separate shooting incident in Santa Ana, where a 16-year-old was injured. Bullet casings found at both scenes and bullets with Trevino's DNA were key pieces of evidence. Erica Stone, who admitted to being the getaway driver in the Garden Grove shooting, testified against Trevino. Stone had initially been charged with murder but pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact in exchange for her cooperation.
Trevino's defense attorney, Jeremy Goldman, argued that there was no direct identification of Trevino by witnesses in either shooting. The defense also questioned the credibility of Stone's testimony, suggesting that her cooperation was motivated by self-preservation rather than truth-telling. Despite these arguments, the prosecution maintained that Trevino's actions were driven by a desire to retaliate against perceived disrespect, leading to the fatal shooting of Frank Moreno Brady.
