A jury found Mexican Mafia associate Gabriel Moreno not guilty of murder Wednesday in the death of a heroin-dealing rival, surprising many in the courtroom who believed the case’s savage details — including the incineration of the victim’s dismembered body parts on a barbecue grill — would guarantee a different outcome.
It was Moreno’s second trial for the 2014 killing of Jose Luis “PeeWee†Menchaca, whose death was believed by police to be in retaliation for Menchaca stabbing Moreno’s cousin and alleged accomplice, Daniel Lopez.