Two Florida men who carried out a home-invasion robbery in 2019 at an Irvine residence that a group of young drug dealers used for a large-scale marijuana-selling operation were convicted on Monday, Sept. 15, of murder.
An Orange County Superior Court jury found Andre Andrews and Omar Miller guilty of first degree murder for the killing of 20-year-old Raymond Alcala, who was shot to death during the Oct. 26, 2019 home invasion at a home on Bayleaf Lane within a gated community in the Northwood neighborhood. Since the jurors determined the two men carried out the killing during a robbery, the defendants are now facing up to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Dramatic video from the home invasion showed Miller and Andrews, both armed with handguns, entering the house through a side door in the early morning hours and immediately attacking a sleeping man. The man screamed and fought back, the video showed, but was subdued by Miller and Andrews and bound with duct tape.
A short time later, the video showed the man escaping his bindings and running for help, as two gunshots could be heard from the second floor of the home, followed by a series of screams. Alcala soon died from his injuries, after Miller and Andrews fled the home.
DNA, neighborhood security footage of a vehicle the suspects rented and cell phone location data ultimately tied Andrews and Miller to the scene. Based on the weapons they were seen holding on the video and ballistics evidence from the shooting scene, prosecutors alleged that Miller fired the fatal gunshots. But both men were charged with Alcala’s death.
One of the men who was living at the home at the time of the killing testified that it wasn’t a “drug house,” saying they met customers online and sent product through the mail. But, according to testimony during the trial, there were hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of cash, luxury items and marijuana kept throughout the residence at the time of the home invasion.
“More product and greed is the motivation behind this,” Senior Deputy District Attorney Lexie Elliott told jurors during closing arguments Wednesday in a Santa Ana courtroom.
A third man — Devon Quinland, of Westminster — is being tried separately on conspiracy and assault charges. During the recent trial, the prosecution described Quinland as “roping” Andrews into the home invasion and Andrews bringing in Miller.
Attorneys for Andrews and Miller denied that the men intended to rob or kill anyone, noting they left the product and cash behind. The defense accused investigators of failing to fully investigate who ordered the pair to go into the home, saying detectives “grabbed the two lowest rungs on a much taller ladder.”
Fredrick, Andrews attorney, said his client acted under duress after he and his family were threatened by members of a drug cartel. The defense attorney showed jurors messages from Andrews’ phone that included apparent threats such as “When we find you, we showing you no sympathy.”
“These people live in a different world than we do,” Fredrick said. “This is a cartel. They kill people regularly… and they do it in scary violent ways.”
The defense attorneys noted that Andrews and Miller didn’t take any of the money or drugs from the house, and didn’t ask the man they attacked and bound where valuables were located.
“He (Andrews) thought, when he entered the house, they were just going to scare somebody,” Fredrick said. “He was told there was just some punk kids in there and they weren’t going to fight back.”
According to testimony, the young men who lived at the house — including Alcala — had been targeted for an attempted robbery during an earlier drug deal, an incident that apparently ended with Alcala and a friend rushing and tackling an armed man. So, when Andrews and Miller entered the home, their attorneys argued they weren’t aware that the men living there were armed and willing to fight back.
Alcala was able to temporarily overpower one of his assailants before he was fatally shot, the defense attorneys said.
The prosecution argued that regardless of whoever else may have been involved, Andrews and Miller were responsible for the shooting.
“These crimes don’t happen without someone willing to go inside and do it,” Elliott told jurors.
Andrews and Miller are scheduled to return to court for sentencing on Dec. 12.