The Bakersfield Californian

Both defendants found guilty of Alcala murder

After nearly two years of court hearings, a Kern County jury on Friday unanimousl­y found Robert Roberts and Sebastian Parra guilty of murdering California Department of Correction­s counselor Benny Alcala Jr.

Roberts, 31, was found guilty of first-degree murder, second-degree attempted robbery and possession of a firearm by a felon. Parra, 24, was found guilty of murder and second-degree robbery.

Roberts also was convicted of murder during an attempted robbery and intentiona­lly dischargin­g a firearm causing death as special circumstan­ces to the murder charge. He was also found to have a prior strike conviction.

Parra did not have a criminal record before Friday’s conviction.

Roberts appeared in court with his defense attorney Deputy Public Defender Gordon Lake and Parra appeared with his attorney, Tim Hennessy.

Roberts rocked back and forth in his chair while the verdict was read while

Parra looked at the table or at the court clerk who read the verdict.

Roberts and Parra’s loved ones came to hear the verdict and sat on the opposite side of the courtroom from Alcala’s family. When Parra’s murder verdict was read, a man immediatel­y stormed out of the courtroom.

Alcala’s family was reminded by Judge Judith Dulcich that if the verdict would be too emotional to hear in the courtroom, the family was welcome to wait in the hallway and listen to a livestream.

Alcala’s family remained in the courtroom the entire time — holding their breath and one another’s hands while waiting for the jury to arrive. As soon as the verdict was read, the family tried to keep their cheering and crying to a minimal noise level.

Jury deliberati­ons lasted only two days after a 13-day trial, but the proceeding­s started July 1 and included several breaks. This trial came after months of delays and Parra’s indictment by a grand jury after testimony as a witness during Roberts’ preliminar­y hearing.

On Aug. 24, 2022, Alcala was shot six times and killed near the electric car charging stations by the Target on Stockdale Highway. Prosecutor John Allen said that Roberts shot Alcala with Parra’s gun after a failed attempt to rob Alcala.

The California­n previously reported that Parra met Roberts that night at The Park at River Walk and the two drank together. Surveillan­ce videos presented during the trial showed the pair together at BevMo!, McDonald’s and Target on Stockdale Highway.

Alcala had gone to Target earlier that night to charge his family’s car, according to the testimony of his wife, Valerie Alcala. She said she

was home with her two sons and knew something was wrong when her husband did not pick up his phone after she tried to call him to say she received a phone alert showing the car was fully charged.

Alcala could be seen leaving Target with a grocery bag with a few coconut waters and energy drinks minutes before Roberts and Parra left together. Alcala walked toward his car and Roberts and Parra could be seen on video walking in the same direction. Allen claims at that time, Roberts and Parra attempted to rob Alcala but killed him instead.

Lake claimed during the trial that his client did not shoot Alcala and Parra shot him by himself. However, Hennessy claimed the exact opposite — saying that Parra did not shoot Alcala and Roberts did. Allen told the jury that Parra did not need to shoot Alcala to be convicted of murder.

Alcala’s family stayed for a second hearing following the verdict. Allen and both defense attorneys discussed items that would be used during a sentencing hearing. Roberts and Parra returned from lunch wearing matching orange Kern County Jail jumpsuits rather than the dress shirts they wore in the morning.

Originally, Dulcich suggested the sentencing be scheduled on Aug. 30, which would have been six days after the two-year anniversar­y of Alcala’s death.

However, Lake suggested Sept. 4 following Labor Day weekend and although Hennessy did not have an objection to that day, he suggested a later day because he is considerin­g filing a Youth Offender Parole Hearing due to Parra’s age.

A Youth Offender Parole Hearing is reserved for defendants under the age of 26 to evaluate a defendant’s maturity, according to the California Department of Correction­s and Rehabilita­tion. At the time of the murder, Parra was 22 years old.

All three attorneys agreed to postpone the sentencing to give the probation officer assigned to the case ample time to prepare a recommenda­tion, rather than coming to a hearing in September and delaying it.

Dulcich set the sentencing for Oct. 2 and when Roberts was asked if he would waive his time to a speeding sentencing for that day, Roberts told Dulcich: “I don’t want to but yeah.”

According to Daniela Gonzaga, a spokespers­on from the Kern County District Attorney’s office, Roberts faces a sentence of up to life in prison without parole and Parra faces up to 25 years in prison.