Jurors heard opening statements Monday morning in Santa Maria in the Santa Barbara County Superior Court trial of Kevin Medrano, charged with fatally shooting one man and injuring another in a case either involving a gang hit or a wrongly accused defendant.

Medrano, 30, of Santa Maria faces charges of murder and attempted murder for the Feb. 4, 2023, shootings at a house in the 400 block of North Railroad Avenue in Santa Maria. He also faces sentencing enhancements alleging the personal use of a firearm and criminal street gang involvement.

Officers from the Santa Maria Police Department responded to the scene shortly before midnight and confirmed that shootings had occurred with two adult male victims injured in the incident.

One of the victims, Robert “Bobby” Valencia, 40, died as a result of the shootings.

On Monday, Supervising Deputy District Attorney Catherine Martin delivered her opening statement, telling jurors and alternates, “This was a gang hit.”

She said the evidence would involve a digital trail from various surveillance video recordings after police canvased the neighborhood to show Medrano and a black Honda Civic he often drove in the area at the time of the shootings.

Video and images from hours before the shootings showed Medrano wearing a white sweatshirt with black writing, white pants and black-and-white shoes. A shooter wore similar clothing, Martin argued.

Medrano, known by the moniker of Chiko, and another man, both with alleged ties to the West Park criminal street gang, walked up to the residence and fired six shots, according to Martin.

The intended victim was a different person in the house and a member of a rival gang, Martin said. That man drove the white Cadillac seen parked in the driveway of the home.

She also showed images from social media of Medrano flashing gang signs with his hands to show his connection to West Park.

Along with surveillance video, the prosecution team will present evidence mapping the defendant’s location by tracking data from his cellphone. 

However, Medrano’s attorney, Michael Scott, claimed that law enforcement lacked any physical evidence or witnesses tying his client to the shootings, calling the evidence circumstantial.

“Nothing was found connecting Mr. Medrano with the shooting,” Scott said. “Nothing. No firearm. No ammunition. No shell casings. No clothing.”

Instead, the defense attorney said, the case relies on grainy, poor-quality video.

Without a positive identification of the shooter, Scott questioned how authorities linked it to a gang crime and contended that no evidence would show Medrano knew the alleged intended target or what vehicle he drove.

He also disputed that clothing worn by his client earlier in the night matched the shooter, contending that the man at the scene wore black pants. 

Authorities did not find any messages from Medrano before, during or after the shooting referring the crime, Scott added.

“Mr. Medrano has been charged wrongly,” Scott said. “At the end of this trial, I will ask you to find him not guilty.”

Late Monday morning, the first witness, a woman visiting the home, took the stand to testify about hearing gunshots, seeing her friend on the floor with bullet wounds and calling 911.

The trial is expected to last eight weeks, stretching into August. 

Since his October 2023 arrest, Medrano has remained in the custody of the Santa Barbara County Jail, where he has been held without bail.