Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: 08/01/2008

Contact person(s):

Media Coordinator, Hilary Moores - 565-3099 Media Spokesperson, Assistant District Attorney Diana Gomez

Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, California

KILLER DENIED PAROLE

District Attorney Stephan Passalacqua announced today that on July 29, 2008, Eduardo Trujillo-Garcia, convicted in 1987 of the second degree murder of Juan Padilla Nuno, was denied parole.

District Attorney Passalacqua said, “The execution style killing of Mr. Nuno is intolerable. The Parole Board agreed with our stance that the release of Trujillo-Garcia at this time would pose an unreasonable risk to public safety.”

In 1986, the defendant murdered his 23 year old friend, Juan Padilla Nuno, arguably over a dispute involving money lost in a card game. The defendant and Mr. Nuno worked on dairy ranches in the Petaluma area for approximately two to three years prior to the murder, and knew each other in Mexico before coming to the United States. They would often play cards for money. The defendant claimed that the victim used bad language and “threatened” him and he responded by pulling a .357 revolver from his waist and shooting the victim. The first bullet traveled through his left arm and exited on the right side of his torso. The defendant then shot the victim one additional time (in the head) as the victim lay prone on his back. An autopsy discovered this was a close contact wound to the head from 1' - 2' away.

Trujillo-Garcia was convicted in a court trial in February 1987 of second degree murder and using a firearm. He is currently housed at Men’s Colony, San Luis Obispo, CA.

On July 29, 2008, the Parole Board conducted a hearing to evaluate whether Trujillo-Garcia was suitable for release. The District Attorney’s Office was represented by Assistant District Attorney Diana Gomez, who argued against Trujillo-Garcia’s release stating that he poses an unreasonable risk of violence in the community. The Board agreed and denied his release for one year.