3 Get the Maximum in Gang Killing of Teen

Three Ventura residents were handed maximum sentences Wednesday for the death of an 18-year-old neighbor, bludgeoned with a baseball bat while trying to defend friends under attack by a street gang.

Terry Paul Schell, 23; Frank Olvera, 34; and Rosana Olvera, 37, will each serve 15 years in prison for second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. Schell and Frank Olvera each will serve an additional four years for committing the crime as part of a gang, while Frank’s wife, Rosana Olvera, was given an additional three years.

Friends and family of the defendants sobbed loudly as the judge pronounced the sentences.

In ignoring pleas for leniency from the defendants’ relatives, Superior Court Judge Charles McGrath lashed out at the gang mentality that he said brought about William Zara’s death.

“Had it not been for the . . . gangsters, this whole thing never would have happened,” McGrath said.

‘She Threw the Match Into the Straw’

McGrath had particularly harsh words for Rosana Olvera, who is not officially a member of the gang and was not accused of striking Zara. Olvera, believing her neighbors had called police to complain about a loud party at her house, delivered the first blow, striking a female neighbor. The neighbor’s screams brought Zara out of his apartment, armed with the bat that ultimately was used to beat him to death.

“The consequences of the defendant’s actions were horrific,” McGrath said. “She threw the match into the straw and the fire killed Bill Zara.”

Prosecutors alleged that about a dozen gang members and their friends rushed Zara’s apartment complex Sept. 26, 1999, to help Olvera. The group attacked several neighbors, but only Zara was pummeled into unconsciousness with a shovel and a bat. He also suffered multiple stab wounds, prosecutors said.

Sentencing for 18-year-old Benny Lopez, who was present for most of Wednesday’s court proceedings, was put off until October while his attorney appeals his first-degree murder conviction. Lopez faces 25 years to life in prison.

A fifth defendant, Ramiro Salgado, 21, will appear in court today, when a trial date is expected to be set for later this year.

Emotions ran high throughout the nearly three-hour proceedings, which included statements from Zara’s parents.

“Bill was pure love and courage,” said Ojai resident Sam Zara, who recounted the moments he saw his son after the beating. “I realized when I saw Bill how bad he was and that it was over--and I talked to my son. He couldn’t respond, but tears ran down his face.”

Sam Zara talked about the pride he felt as a father, knowing his son’s last act was to help others.

“He was no coward,” Zara said. “He didn’t hide when he heard a woman’s screams for help. Bill’s actions were heroic. I love my son. I’m proud of my son.”

Zara’s mother, Laura Gold of Arizona, who teaches at-risk students, said the death of her son has left her incapable of relating to her students.

‘I Watched for Any Signs of Remorse’

“I begin working with these kids and the only thing I can see them as is a future Benny Lopez or Terry Paul Schell,” Gold said. “I wonder if they could turn on me or other students as they turned on my son.”

Gold added that it was frustrating to come into court and face the defendants, who never seemed to care about Zara’s life.

“I have watched for any signs of remorse or regret,” Gold said. “But I have found none from these murderers. They are thugs and murderers who have no regard for life.”

The defendants did not look at Gold or Zara as they spoke. Schell, who entered the courtroom whistling, wore sunglasses throughout the sentencing hearing.

Schell’s mother, Kris Gonzales, begged the judge to have mercy on her son, arguing that although he was present during the fight, he never struck Zara.

“My son does not have Bill Zara’s blood on his hands,” Gonzales said. “My son was there, but he did not kill that boy. I know it, my son knows it, and God knows it.”

John Gonzales, Rosana Olvera’s brother, told the judge that his sister was a good person and never meant to harm anyone.

“Things do get out of control sometimes and that’s what happened,” Gonzales said.

Rosana Olvera’s daughter, who often rolled her eyes as Zara’s family spoke, dropped her head in her lap and cried aloud after hearing her mother and stepfather’s sentence.

Outside court, Rosana Olvera’s mother said she was furious with a justice system that put her daughter in prison for murder when she never touched the defendant.

“I hope the district attorney sleeps at night,” Carmen Gonzales said. “I know my daughter. And I know she’s no killer. If that boy had just stayed in his apartment with the bat, with the door locked, none of this would have ever happened.”