Man who killed SJ resident in street ambush sentenced

City News Service

Special to the Valley News

A man directly responsible for the deadly ambush- style revenge attack on a San Jacinto motorist a decade ago was sentenced on Friday, July 28, to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

A Murrieta jury deliberated only a few hours last month before convicting Abram Daniel Palacios, 35, of San Jacinto guilty of the 2013 slaying of 23-year-old Ivan Ibarra Carrillo.

Jurors found Palacios guilty of first-degree murder and found true a special circumstance allegation of lying in wait, as well as convicted Palacios of sentenceenhancing gun and great bodily injury allegations.

During a hearing at the Southwest Justice Center Friday, Riverside County Superior Court Judge F. Paul Dickerson imposed the sentence required by law.

The defendant’s half-brother, 50-year-old Juan Javier Mejia of Palm Springs, was convicted in 2016 of identical charges and was also sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

According to court documents, Palacios wanted revenge against Carrillo because he believed the victim had orchestrated a home invasion robbery at his girlfriend’s house in October 2012.

The prosecution contended that Palacios had been looking for Carrillo over a weeks-long span. Mejia volunteered to act as the hit man, later telling sheriff’s investigators that he had control of both handguns used to carry out the killing, according to a trial brief filed by the District Attorney’s Office.

On June 6, 2013, Palacios learned Carrillo was in his neighborhood, near the intersection of Las Rosas Drive and Osprey Street. The defendant picked up Mejia in his girlfriend’s four-door Honda Accord, and the men then set off to find the victim’s Ford Excursion.

Within minutes, they encountered the SUV heading northbound on Las Rosas, where the defendants pulled into the larger vehicle’s path, forcing Carrillo to slam on his brakes.

Mejia jumped out of the Honda with a .40 caliber pistol, firing 14

CA passes bill requiring incarcerated parents to be housed near their children

SACRAMENTO – Assembly

Bill 1226, known as the “Keep Families Close” bill and written by Assemblymember Matt Haney, D-San Francisco, passed the Legislature with bipartisan support and was signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom Friday, July 21. This bill requires the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to place an incarcerated parent, legal guardian or caregiver of a minor child in the correctional facility closest to that child’s home. The bill also allows already incarcerated parents to request a transfer to the prison closest to their child’s home. AB 1226 doesn’t apply to individuals convicted of certain crimes, such as violence and sex related offenses, that already prohibit them from having child visitation rights.

“We know that having a relationship with parents is crucial for a child’s behavioral and emotional development and being able to see them on a regular basis – even just during visits – can make a huge difference in a young child’s life,” Haney said. In a large state like California, there are thousands of incarcerated parents who are placed more than 500 miles from their children. Incarcerated mothers, in particular, struggle to maintain contact with their children. More than half of incarcerated mothers do not receive any visits from their children while in prison. Research showed that children with incarcerated mothers particularly struggle with behavioral health issues, which underscores the need for children to maintain contact with their incarcerated parents, especially mothers.

In 2019, CDCR released information that only 25% of incarcerated people in California state prisons are placed in institutions less than 100 miles from home. The long distances place a burden on families who do not have the financial means or the time to travel across the state for family visits. Visitation falls off significantly the farther from home a person is incarcerated; 50% of people placed less than 50 miles away from home receive frequent family visitation and 15% of people placed 500 miles away receive visitors. AB 1226 will take effect starting Jan. 1, 2024.

Submitted by the office of Assemblymember Matt Haney.