A young man who pleaded no contest in the murder of a Long Beach resident whose body was found inside an SUV that had been set on fire in Rancho Palos Verdes in 2013 apologized today to the victim’s family.
“I know that my words can’t change things, but I am sorry for all the pain that I caused you,” Adrian Berumen told Christopher Waters’ relatives.
Superior Court Judge Laura Laesecke had directed the defendant to turn and face the 42-year-old man’s family as he stood to offer his brief statement.
Berumen, who was 17 at the time of the crime and is now 26, entered his no contest plea to first-degree murder in the midst of jury selection Friday in the Long Beach courtroom. He is set to be sentenced April 6 to 25 years to life in state prison.
Defense attorney Sean Kennedy told reporters outside court that Berumen wanted to spare the victim’s family “the pain of going through a trial.”
Berumen was charged along with co-defendant Jose Angel Martinez, who was convicted in October 2017 of first-degree murder and arson in the death of Waters, whose body was found in the flaming SUV at 30100 Miraleste Drive at 2:30 p.m. on April 23, 2013. His feet had been bound and a cord was wrapped around his neck.
Deputy District Attorney Brian Kang told jurors in Martinez’s trial that Berumen and Martinez ambushed Waters. The prosecutor alleged Berumen told the victim to bring rent and deposit money for an apartment that did not exist, and that the two called a cab, went to the Lakewood mall and began spending the victim’s money after his vehicle was set ablaze.
Berumen—just under two months shy of his 18th birthday at the time of the killing—was ordered to stand trial as an adult following a transfer hearing in juvenile court.
Berumen’s defense team has appealed that ruling and contends that he received ineffective assistance from his prior lawyer during that proceeding, with the judge saying she reviewed the transcripts and found no basis for that claim.
“We believe he should be prosecuted in juvenile court,” said Berumen’s attorney, who leads the Center for Juvenile Law & Policy at Loyola Law School and said his client has done “incredible work” with mentally ill inmates while behind bars. “We asked the leadership at the D.A.’s office to follow its own policy and we got no answers.”
In a directive issued shortly after being sworn into office, District Attorney George Gascon said his office would immediately end the practice of sending youths to the adult court system.
Saying it had been “eight years and almost eight months since my brother was murdered,” the victim’s sister, Jennifer, said she loves her brother and misses him every day.
The victim’s mother, Cora Klahn, who was also among those who spoke, said she realized that she would “probably never know the outcome” of Berumen’s life, but said she hoped he would come to realize the weight of his actions, which she added caused “deep pain.”
Martinez is serving a 28-year-to-life state prison sentence, but his case has been ordered to be sent back to the trial court for a hearing as a result of a state law that allows defendants on some murder cases to seek re-sentencing.
Martinez contends that he couldn’t now be convicted of murder because of the changes in state law since he was found guilty. Laesecke denied his petition for re-sentencing, but a three-justice panel from California’s 2nd District Court of Appeal found that a hearing should have been held on his request.
