Cepeda found not guilty of murder

Superior Court jurors rendered yesterday a not-guilty verdict against Franklin Cabrera Cepeda Jr. who is facing murder charges for the 2000 killing of Rong Zhou inside a karaoke bar in San Jose.

After deliberating for about four hours, the six jurors reached a unanimous verdict that found Cepeda not guilty of first-degree murder, second-degree murder, aggravated assault and battery, assault with a dangerous weapon, robbery, and conspiracy.

Associate judge Perry B. Inos, who presided over the retrial and decided the misdemeanor charges, found Cepeda guilty of assault and battery, and theft.

Inos did not explain his decision. He sentenced Cepeda to the maximum one year in prison and $1,000 fine each.

Since Cepeda has been in detention for eight years now since his arrest for the murder of Zhou inside Yellow House Karaoke on March 1, 2000, this means he is now a free man.

The 34-year-old Cepeda appeared calm as he listened to a court staff and Inos who announced the jury’s and the judge’s verdict. He then hugged his counsel, Colin Thompson, and became teary-eyed when his parents embraced him.

Thompson thanked former police officer Christopher Leon Guerrero who, as the defense’s private investigator, worked hard on the case.

“He [Cepeda] is now a free man; that’s the good news,” Thompson said.

Franklin Cepeda Sr., the defendant’s father, believes the investigation in the case was rushed and pointed out that his son has been consistently saying he did not do the crime.

Assistant attorney general Peter B. Prestley said they are disappointed with the jury’s verdict but respect their decision.

Prestley said they believe there was overwhelming evidence of Cepeda’s guilt, including his confession to a family member, eyewitness testimony of co-defendant George Ilo, and corroborating eyewitness testimony of two other witnesses who were with Cepeda on the night of the murder.

Prestley said the judge finding Cepeda guilty of both misdemeanor charges is some consolation.

“We want to thank our staff for locating the discovery from over 11 years ago, and the hard work of the Department of Public Safety’s Criminal Investigation Bureau detectives involved in the investigation, especially the detectives who cracked the cold case in 2003,” he added.

Cepeda’s co-defendant, Ilo, who had already pleaded guilty in the same case, had testified that their plan was to rob Yellow House Karaoke so they could buy “ice.” Ilo said he was holding a knife while Cabrera was armed with a baseball bat when they entered the bar.

He said Zhou grabbed the knife, triggering their struggle for possession of the weapon. Ilo said Cepeda hit the businessman with a baseball bat on the head.

“I saw blood coming out from Matthew’s [Zhou] head,” said Ilo, adding that he stabbed the victim, then Cepeda took the knife and repeatedly stabbed the victim.

It was the third trial in the murder of Zhou.

In 2000, the OAG charged Jeffrey Deleon Guerrero with the murder of Zhou, but he was later acquitted.

The OAG later charged Franklin Cepeda Jr. and Ilo. In January 2005, the jury found Franklin Cepeda Jr. guilty of first-degree murder, robbery, aggravated assault and battery, assault with a dangerous weapon, and conspiracy. He was sentenced to 66 years in prison.

Franklin Cepeda Jr., however, prevailed in his appeal. The CNMI Supreme Court vacated his convictions and ordered a new trial.