Raymond “Raymo” Gutierrez, 31, and Alvaro “Tito” Saldana, 26, are facing first-degree murder charges with gang enhancements

Raymond “Raymo” Gutierrez, 31, and Alvaro “Tito” Saldana, 26, are facing first-degree murder charges with gang enhancements in the death of Roger Villanueva on May 25, 2008.

Villanueva was shot to death in the backyard of an Angelus Street home during a memorial barbecue to Moses Rodriguez, who was murdered in Turlock in 2006.

On Monday Stanislaus County Deputy District Attorney Thomas Brennan presented a gang expert witness to prove the prosecutions claim that the killing of Villanueva was done to benefit the Norteño street gang.

Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Deputy Paul Teso, a classification and a gang specialist deputy testified to the gang culture inside the Stanislaus County Jail that Gutierrez and Saldana are accused of being a part of.

Teso’s testimony included detailed descriptions of the Norteño’s organization behind bars and what is expected of the members.

When an inmate comes into the jail and they claim a certain gang affiliation or the intake deputy uses other indicators like tattoos to establish a likely gang affiliation, they are placed in segregated housing to protect the general population from recruitment and assaults.

According to Teso’s testimony, new inmates to the jail who claim Norteño affiliation are required by the gang’s hierarchy to fill out a new arrival questionnaire listing everything from their name to the charges against them. These questionnaires are written on “wellas” referring to the tiny handwriting on small bits of paper that gangs use, Teso said.

Both Gutierrez and Saldana had filled out new arrival questionnaires for the gang that were later confiscated during a cell search, Teso said.DISCLAIMER:Text may be subject to copyright.This blog does not claim copyright to any such text. Copyright remains with the original copyright holder.