Jurors began deliberating Friday in the trial of a man charged with murdering his ex-girlfriend’s fiance in North Park, in what prosecutors say was a killing motivated by jealousy and obsession.
The jury heard closing arguments in the trial of Jesse Milton Alvarez, 33, who is charged with murdering Cathedral Catholic High School teacher Mario Fierro, who was shot multiple times outside his home on Feb. 1, 2021 as he was preparing to go to work.
Jurors began their deliberations Friday afternoon, but did not reach a verdict by the end of the day. Deliberations will resume Monday morning.
Prosecutors allege Alvarez killed Fierro, 37, after discovering Fierro had gotten engaged to Amy Gembara, another CCHS teacher who Alvarez had dated for several years. Defense attorneys allege the shooting was committed in self-defense after Fierro attacked Alvarez.
The prosecution’s case centered on Alvarez’s fixation with Gembara that lasted well after their 2019 break-up, as well as a digital trail of evidence that suggested Alvarez spent weeks researching how to kill Fierro.
Deputy District Attorney Ramona McCarthy told jurors that after seeing a social media post announcing Fierro and Gembara’s engagement, Alvarez began methodically plotting Fierro’s death.
Within a day of viewing the engagement post, Alvarez had tracked down Fierro’s home address, searched whether he could hire a hitman, as well as “how to shoot someone at their home address,” according to his internet search history.
After their break-up, McCarthy said Alvarez’s fixation on his ex- girlfriend led him to begin stalking her. She sought a restraining order against Alvarez, but a judge denied her request.
Gembara testified last week that Alvarez’s persistence led her to change the locks at her home, install security cameras outside her residence and eventually move entirely. She testified that Alvarez was able to find her new addresses and mail her letters, tried to break into her apartment and showed up unexpectedly on one occasion while she was at Disneyland with a relative.
He also tried multiple times to apply for jobs at Cathedral Catholic High School. He was able to secure a food service job on one of those attempts, but was fired on his first day after he was recognized from a security flyer posted on campus.
The prosecutor said that after Alvarez learned of the engagement in December of 2020, he began practicing shooting guns at local firing ranges, while conducting internet searches about where to shoot a person on their body to ensure they die. He also searched “how to kill your ex’s fiance,” “how to commit the perfect murder,” and “what does woman do with engagement ring if man dies?”
Alvarez testified earlier this week that those searches were not made with any serious intent of harming Fierro, but were “therapeutic” and conducted as a way to vent his emotions. He conceded, though, that he harbored “bad fantasies of wishing that (Fierro) was gone or dead or not here anymore.”
McCarthy told jurors to reject any notion that the searches were “fantasy…His intent is crystal clear.”
McCarthy argued Alvarez planned to kill Fierro on Feb. 1 because he knew that was the first day on-campus instruction was resuming at Cathedral Catholic High School amid the pandemic. She argued Alvarez anticipated Fierro would leave his home that morning and waited for nearly an hour until Fierro emerged, then shot him in surprise fashion as Fierro was loading the trunk of his car, with his back turned to his killer.
But Alvarez testified that he was inspired by a Bible verse and spontaneously decided that morning to speak to Fierro, something he believed would help him move on from his fixation with Gembara.
When he arrived outside Fierro’s home, he testified that he approached Fierro and introduced himself and Fierro “snapped” and attacked him.
After Fierro started punching him, Alvarez alleged he pulled out his gun and begged Fierro to stop, but Fierro tried to grab the pistol. The men grappled over the gun and fearing for his safety, Alvarez ultimately shot Fierro, he testified.
Fierro was shot six times, including two gunshots to the front of his head and two to the back of his head.
Defense attorney Peter Blair did not dispute that Alvarez was obsessed with Gembara and conceded that his behavior surrounding Gembara was troubling.
But Blair told jurors that Gembara surely shared her concerns with Fierro and argued those troubling incidents likely spurred Fierro to attack Alvarez on Feb. 1.
While Blair argued that Alvarez’s behavior leaned more towards “offensive, insulting, and immature,” than actually dangerous, he said what mattered was Gembara believed Alvarez was dangerous and communicated that to Fierro.
“I’m asking you to really, really think critically about some pretty disturbing evidence,” Blair told jurors. “I’m not asking you to disregard that evidence….Look at how much Jesse really stalked and tormented Amy and what Mario thought about that at the time.”
Alvarez’s defense attorneys argued during the trial that Alvarez also wanted to speak with Fierro on Feb. 1 because of a picture posted on social media in which Fierro and Gembara were seen having alcoholic drinks. Alvarez testified that Gembara had issues with drinking in the past and said the picture had “a triggering effect” on him because he believed Fierro was taking advantage of Gembara’s vulnerabilities.
McCarthy argued there was no truth to that assertion. She said that during the time Alvarez was conducting online research into how to kill Fierro, he sent Gembara multiple love letters, none of which detailed any concerns about drinking.
She also argued that his actions made it clear that he went to Fierro’s home to carry out a murder, citing the fact that he drove to Fierro’s home in his brother’s car, while leaving his cell phone at home.
“Every bit of evidence proves the defendant went there to murder him,” McCarthy said.
Alvarez faces life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted of first-degree murder and a special-circumstance allegation of lying in wait.
City News Service contributed to this report.