In no-surprise vigorous closing arguments, lawyers in the Quintanilla siblings murder trial on Wednesday built vastly divergent views of the evidence and what it shows about an Oct. 2021 fatal shooting in Fairfield that led to the death of a 19-year-old woman.
Deputy District Attorney Ilana Shapiro, in her first statement, noted “the overwhelming evidence against the defendants,” briefly pointing to Jessica Yesenia Quintanilla and her brother, Marco Antonio Quintanilla, seated at the defense table.
Jessica Quintanilla, 24, of Pittsburg, allegedly shot and killed Leilani Beauchamp, of Carmel, on the morning of Oct. 30 in a Cascade Lane home while she was lying in bed with Juan Parra-Peralta, with whom Quintanilla once had a romantic relationship with. Marco Quintanilla, 30, also of Pittsburg, is accused of being an accessory after the fact and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
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In an even-toned voice, using hand gestures to emphasize her points, Shapiro asked jurors if they noticed during the five-week trial that Jessica Quintanilla shed “no tears” for Beauchamp (which has been pronounced “BEECH-um during the proceedings).
Using a computer-aided slide presentation, she reiterated the felony murder charge against Quintanilla, who allegedly used a semi-automatic handgun to shoot Beauchamp once in the head.
Shapiro — alluding to the judge’s jury instructions, in which jurors have the option of convicting Quintanilla of a lesser crime, such as voluntary or involuntary manslaughter “in the heat of passion” — said “heat of passion did not apply” in the case and other lesser included offenses, likewise, do not apply.
And, she asserted, Marco Quintanilla “lied to investigators” about whether he was in possession of handgun shortly after the shooting. He took possession of Parra-Peralta’s handgun after the shooting, said Shapiro, standing just a step or two from the jury box in Department 11 of Solano County Superior Court in Fairfield.
She also reminded jurors that Jessica Quintanilla an Parra-Peralta had an on-again, off-again relationship.
Shapiro then began showing a series of slides to the jury, including images of Parra-Peralta and his friend, Damien Ponders, both airmen stationed at Travis Air Force Base in Oct. 2021, photos of Parra-Peralta’s bedroom, photo of Corral De Tierra Road in Salinas, where, on Oct. 30, Jessica Quintanilla and Parra-Peralta traveled to. There, Parra-Peralta, who testified that Quintanilla threatened him at gunpoint during most of the day, dumped Beauchamp’s blanket-wrapped body down a hillside.
While there were initially inconsistencies in Parra-Peralta and Ponders’ statements to investigators, Parra-Peralta, Shapiro’s first witness, “told the truth” about the blood-stained mattress that he and Ponders later loaded into a Dumpster in Vallejo. “And that shows credibility,” said Shapiro.
At the outset of the afternoon session, she noted that cellphone call on the morning of Oct. 30 from Beauchamp’s friend Sarah Schlagel revealed that Schlagel heard Parra-Peralta and Quintanilla arguing. Shapiro also pointed out that Jessica Quintanilla posted “disgusting comments” on her Instagram page shortly after the shooting.
Shapiro characterized the case as no “she said, he said” matter, because multiple people testified about what happened.
Showing a slide of Jessica Quintanilla’s cellphone records on Oct. 30, Shapiro pointed out that Jessica called her brother at 9 a.m., appearing to suggest the call was made shortly after the shooting.
Parra-Peralta and Ponders, who were later discharged by the Air Force under less-than-honorable circumstances, lied initially to investigators but they eventually told the truth, Shapiro asserted.
At the outset of his closing argument, Jessica Quintanilla ‘s attorney, William Alan Welch, said, “I’m not going to talk about all the evidence,” then added that the shooting “was an accident,” and repeated, “It was an accident.”
“It’s an absolute tragedy,” he said of Beauchamp’s killing, “the product of a relationship that, charitably, can be described as toxic.”
Parra-Peralta, said Welch, “wanted Jessica Quintanilla to get him a gun,” according to Instagram records, and attorney described social media “as a cesspool,” a place unlikely to yield the truth.
Marco Antonio Quintanilla, 30, of Pittsburg, appeared in Department 11 of Solano County Superior Court during his November 2021 arraignment in connection to the death of Leilani Beauchamp and is charged with being an accessory after the fact.(Joel Rosenbaum / Reporter File Photo)
He showed a video clip of Ponders and Parra-Peralta “ready to go out to a party,” with Parra-Peralta demonstrating gunplay.
Even his best friend acknowledged that Parra-Peralta was “reckless.”
Welch characterized Parra-Peralta as a “pathological liar” and a manipulator whose “reckless gunplay” sparked the shooting, a reference to Jessica Quintanilla’s testimony that Parra-Peralta had a gun in his hand at one point on Oct. 30, they struggled and the gun discharged, the bullet striking Beauchamp in the head.
If convicted, Jessica Quintanilla faces 25 years to life in prison and perhaps more time for the use of a firearm. And, if convicted of the felony allegation, Marco Quintanilla, who after his arrest in 2021 posted bail and was released, could face up to three years in prison, depending on the circumstances of the case, and perhaps more time for being a previously convicted felon for attempted murder in 2013 and violation of his parole.
In its fifth week, the trial resumes at 10 a.m. Thursday, with additional closing arguments and Shapiro’s rebuttal, in Department 11 in the Justice Center in Fairfield.