A state appeals court panel overturned an attempted murder conviction this week for a man whom prosecutors alleged shot a gang rival in a drive-by retaliatory attack.
George Thomas Rouston Jr., 50, was sentenced in 2022 to 50 years to life in state prison for a shooting that left the victim with a gunshot wound to his face.
Prosecutors alleged that in late 2020, Rouston and co-defendant Issic Navarro, 28, conspired to kill the victim, who was fired upon multiple times “in broad daylight,” in front of his home.
That shooting occurred one day after a 15-year-old gang member was gunned down in Barrio Logan, which the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office said prompted Rouston and Navarro to retaliate.
Navarro pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 17 years in prison, while Rouston went to trial.
On Tuesday, a three-judge panel of the 4th District Court of Appeal set aside Rouston’s conviction on the basis that the lead detective in the case, Kevin Jankowski, gave “improper opinion testimony” about his belief that Rouston was the shooter.
The appellate panel argued the detective’s status as a gang expert lent credibility to his testimony, which was largely based on one witness account of the shooting. The panel wrote that another witness’ account of the shooting was inconsistent with the first witness, and “without Jankowski’s authoritative opinion that Rouston was the shooter, this evidence held far less weight.”
Though many of the detective’s statements were objected to by Rouston’s defense attorney, the trial judge overruled those objections.
The appellate panel also noted that during the jury’s deliberations, jurors asked questions that “showed uncertainty about whether Rouston was the shooter.”
The panel wrote, “Without Jankowski’s compelling statements, at least one member of the jury might not have found beyond a reasonable doubt that Rouston was guilty of these crimes.”
