Lara has been charged with murder, attempted murder, shooting at an occupied vehicle and using a firearm.Lara’s is the first murder case in Ventura County which prosecutors have used Proposition 21. Deputy District Attorney John West said Lara’s criminal history - including gang-related offenses - and the seriousness of the crime he is charged with as reasons for trying him in adult court.Markov’s court filing notes that constitutional issues are at the forefront of his argument that Lara should not be tried as an adult without the intervention of a judge. Proposition 21 is vague, he added, providing no guidelines or criteria to lead prosecutors in decision-making. The lack of oversight of such decisions make same both secretive and unreviewable.Opposing arguments are expected to be submitted by prosecutors; a hearing in the matter is set for Dec. 19.The gun allegedly used by Lara to shoot Orozco and Longoria has been linked to the October murder of an Oxnard transient and ex-con, 41-year-old James Boyce, who was walking to the Rescue Mission when he was gunned down near railroad tracks. An Oxnard Police Department spokesman said the investigation into Boyce’s murder - and the link to the gun - is continuing.
Lara trial as adult under new law challenged by attorney
December 13, 2000
Santa Paula News
An Oxnard youth accused of gunning down a Santa Paula woman and wounding her companion on Nov. 7 near Las Piedras Park might just wind up being the county’s test case for a new law that allows the prosecution of juveniles as adults for serious felonies.
By Peggy KellySanta Paula TimesAn Oxnard youth accused of gunning down a Santa Paula woman and wounding her companion on Nov. 7 near Las Piedras Park might just wind up being the county’s test case for a new law that allows the prosecution of juveniles as adults for serious felonies.In court papers filed Friday, Deputy Public Defender William Markov argued that a judge, not the prosecutor, should decide whether 17-year-old murder suspect Isaac Daniel Lara should be tried as an adult.Lara, a former resident of Santa Paula, has been charged with the election night homicide of Joanna Marie Orozco, 21, who had stopped at a Saticoy Street home to pick up a friend. Her companion, Shane Joseph Longoria, 22 of Fillmore, was shot in the arm after Lara - who reportedly had never met Orozco or Longoria before Nov. 7 - told Longoria to run after he gunned down Orozco.Proposition 21, passed by state voters in March, gave prosecutors decision-making powers on whether or not juveniles should be tried in adult court.
