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A Plan to Kill - Season 2 Episode 02 Killer Competition
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Short filmTranscript
00:05There had been a 911 call, shots fired.
00:09You hear a scream on the audio, and then there's a pause, which was just not normal.
00:15It definitely appeared there was some element of an ambush.
00:19Is it a robbery gone bad?
00:22Witnesses saw a vehicle fleeing the area of the crime scene.
00:25She took the initiative to contact our unit, which specializes in stalking, months prior to the murder.
00:32We learned that he was following over 470 social media accounts that were associated to the high school.
00:38We found weapons, computer searches, and he was photographing the actual classrooms.
00:44This was all part of his larger plan.
00:46The San Diego Police Department ended up surrounding the school so that we can ensure the students were safe.
00:52We were scared. I didn't leave the house that day.
00:56He was watching, waiting, and it was clear that this murder was premeditated.
01:28San Diego 911.
01:29I was driving away, and I saw the men that were fighting.
01:34San Diego 911.
01:36I heard, like, gunshots outside. I heard somebody wailing.
01:39How many shots did he hear?
01:42I found it possibly, like, five.
01:45I heard a car driving away, and there's a guy that's laying out here.
01:52That morning, I was on my way into work, actually, when the call came out.
01:57There had been 911 calls of shots fired, and that there was a person down in the 4500 block of
02:03Kansas Street.
02:04When patrol officers arrived, they found an unidentified victim, fatally shot.
02:09He was pronounced deceased at the scene.
02:13When we arrived, the streets were already cordoned off with police tape, and officers were at each end of the
02:21street.
02:25It was a sunny February day, beautiful San Diego morning, but right on the sidewalk, you see a man lying
02:32in a large pool of blood.
02:35Patrol officers told us that they saw an apartment door open adjacent to the crime scene,
02:42and so officers made entry into the apartment unit to make sure that there were no other injured people.
02:48When they did that, they found a wallet with a driver's license.
02:53And there were several photos around that apartment that appeared to be the same person that was deceased on the
02:59sidewalk.
03:00So, based on the photos and the driver's license, we identified the victim as 36-year-old Hispanic male Mario
03:08Fierro.
03:10Now, we need to quickly learn why and how this murder occurred.
03:15The decedent was laying almost directly behind a Mini Cooper.
03:20That Mini Cooper had the trunk lid open, and I could see a set of golf clubs in the back
03:26of the trunk.
03:28I did contemplate in that moment that the victim was possibly accosted by a robber who was trying to steal
03:36something from him,
03:37and approached him as he was loading up his golf bag into the trunk of the Mini Cooper.
03:43This happened in North Park. North Park is generally a safe community.
03:47There were shell casings on the street.
03:50It definitely appeared, based on how the scene was initially, that there was some element of an ambush.
03:58It was a surprise attack.
04:01There was impact spatter all around the head that was visible from several feet away.
04:05I could tell that this was up close and personal.
04:13So, as I was processing the crime scene, the detectives on my team began to canvas the neighborhood
04:18and try and locate other witnesses that may have seen or heard things.
04:22It's a very densely populated area, so when the gunshots were fired at that early hour,
04:28this drew a lot of attention from the neighbors.
04:31There were people looking out their windows.
04:34We identified one primary witness that actually happened to be driving down the street
04:40as the commotion was actually occurring.
04:44And she notices that two people are involved in a fight.
04:48She says that one of the individuals is actually holding what appears to her as a white thermometer,
04:55and the individual is holding it to the other person's forehead.
05:00Now, this is during the time of COVID, so to her, she believed it was a COVID thermometer.
05:07She continues to drive, and then she sees that our now suspect is taking off in a vehicle
05:13that appeared to her to be a hatchback and driving northbound on Kansas Street.
05:17I remember actually asking her several times that she was sure about what she had observed,
05:24and she was adamant that it was a white object.
05:28And as an investigator, that's a key piece of information,
05:32because as the investigation evolves, that's one piece that we're either going to have to explain
05:38or we're going to have to figure out the discrepancy.
05:43At this point, detectives, they are also looking for any type of cameras,
05:48anything to help the investigation.
05:51Approximately six homes away from where the actual shooting took place,
05:55we located one surveillance camera that captured the suspect vehicle as it fled the scene.
06:01As we reviewed the surveillance footage,
06:04we observed a dark blue Volkswagen, like, Jetta-style car as a hatchback.
06:11And we saw that vehicle fleeing the area of the crime scene immediately after hearing gunshots.
06:27We continued reviewing the surveillance footage from earlier in the morning,
06:30and that same vehicle arrived at about 6 o'clock in the morning prior to the crime occurring.
06:35So we identified that car as a strong, possible suspect vehicle.
06:44But while I'm on scene, an individual flagged me down.
06:50He said, hey, what's all the police activity about here?
06:53He identified himself as a Homeland Security investigator.
06:56He showed me his badge.
06:58And then he proceeded to ask me the identity of the decedent.
07:02And then he began to tell me that he was cousins with a female named Amy Gambara and that Amy
07:12had called him.
07:13She said that her fiancé, Mario, had not shown up to work and asked him to go by Mario's house
07:20to see if he was okay.
07:26He says, my cousin, Amy, she works at Cathedral High School.
07:30And her fiancé, Mario, was working there as a teacher and a coach.
07:35And Amy, she's been a victim of stalking from a guy named Jesse Alvarez.
07:39And I believe that Jesse may have something to do with the murder of Mario Fierro.
07:46We didn't know if this information was actually credible, so there was still a lot of investigating to do.
07:52But it provided us with a lead.
07:55Now we had a name, Jesse Alvarez, who had a connection to the victim and who also had a possible
08:01motive.
08:02So we needed to locate Amy Gambara and make sure that she was not in any danger.
08:09Amy had tried to get a restraining order.
08:12She was scared and she felt helpless.
08:15He tells us she has this histrionic disorder where she thinks relationships are closer than they are.
08:20I told her plenty of times I did not want to date her.
08:23She expressed romanticness to me, but I always said no.
08:27He maintains that.
08:29I don't know Mario and I never dated Amy.
08:41We had a gunshot victim identified as Mario Fierro.
08:44While investigators and crime scene detectives were beginning to process the scene,
08:49we learned that Mario's fiancé, Amy Gambara, was the victim of stalking from a guy named Jesse Alvarez.
08:58I left the crime scene to drive up to Cathedral Catholic High School because Amy's a teacher there
09:05and we all felt she was in immediate danger in that moment.
09:09As I was driving up to the high school, I placed a phone call to a district attorney, Ramona McCarthy,
09:15and gave her a briefing.
09:21It's very common to have a deputy district attorney pre-assigned to the case.
09:27We can review warrants and it's just best practice for everybody to work hand in hand from the onset.
09:32As he was giving me information about the homicide,
09:36he was letting me know that the victim may have been the suspect's ex-girlfriend's fiancé.
09:44That immediately triggered me because working in the stalking unit,
09:49I had been working with a stalking victim for months prior who was engaged.
09:55And so I asked the detective,
09:57is her name Amy Gambara that you're going to speak to?
10:00And he said, yes.
10:04I was devastated
10:07when I realized that it was her fiancé Mario Fierro.
10:13Unbeknownst to me, Ramona knew Amy
10:17and she knew Mario was Amy's fiancé.
10:20But before she met Mario,
10:23Amy used to date Jesse Alvarez.
10:26But she started picking up on red flags that Jesse was exhibiting.
10:31Controlling behavior,
10:33manipulating behavior.
10:35So she broke up with him.
10:36So now I'm getting more information about the background
10:40and learning that Amy
10:41had attempted to get a restraining order against Jesse Alvarez.
10:45But that day on February 1st,
10:48we did not know where he was.
10:50And Amy is vulnerable at the school.
10:53And so the San Diego Police Department
10:55ended up surrounding the school
10:57and patrolling the school
10:58so that we can assure the students at Cathedral Catholic
11:01were safe
11:02and that Amy was safe.
11:09When I arrived at the school,
11:11Amy was seated in the principal's office
11:13and I told her
11:16that Mario had died.
11:20And Amy began screaming and wailing.
11:24She fell to the ground
11:25and she immediately started saying,
11:28Jesse did it.
11:29Jesse did it.
11:33We interviewed her at length
11:34and she described in great detail
11:37the plans that her and Mario had to have children.
11:41They were excited about their wedding
11:42and all of that had just come crashing down.
11:46So she appeared appropriately impacted
11:48and I felt comfortable that she wasn't involved in this.
11:53Amy told investigators
11:55after she ended her relationship with Jesse Alvarez
11:59two years prior,
12:00she slowly started to try to distance herself.
12:04But common in these type of domestic violence relationships,
12:09he would not let her go.
12:11She lays out a detailed record of years of stalking
12:15since she broke up with Jesse in 2019.
12:19Jesse had been following Amy in San Bernardino
12:22where they both lived at the time.
12:25He was showing up to random places
12:27that he should not know that she is there
12:29and calling her nonstop.
12:31But Amy was trying to put her old life behind her
12:35and move on.
12:40Amy really started a new chapter in her life.
12:42So she moved to San Diego.
12:44She got a job as a teacher
12:47at Cathedral Catholic High School.
12:49And it was there that she fell in love
12:51with a fellow teacher, Mario Fierro.
12:55I asked Amy, tell me about Mario.
12:58What's his background?
12:59What does he do?
13:01She told me he's an alumni at Cathedral Catholic.
13:04He played on the football team.
13:07He's locally rooted.
13:09She talked to me about his parents,
13:11his siblings, very strong family man.
13:14He was very liked, very loved.
13:21I just was shocked.
13:23I just didn't, I couldn't believe it.
13:26I remember it like it was yesterday.
13:29Honestly, I just figured there was some sort of mistake.
13:34I had just talked to Mario the night before,
13:37planning where we were going to meet up that weekend.
13:40I was in disbelief.
13:43I've known Mario since grade school.
13:45We were just really good friends.
13:48He always had the biggest smile
13:50and always was like so alive.
13:53He had a very unique personality.
13:55When Mario was in the room,
13:57you definitely knew Mario was in the room.
13:59Mario was always obsessed with sports
14:00and he always knew that he wanted
14:02to be in sports somehow.
14:05At some point when he decided
14:07he wanted to be a teacher
14:08and wanted to be a coach,
14:10the only place he wanted to go was Cathedral.
14:14I remember when Mario first talked about Amy
14:18because he first told us
14:20that he had met this teacher
14:22that was new in town
14:23and that she seemed really nice
14:26and very cool
14:27and they began dating in February of 2020.
14:31They were both just so happy
14:33and then in December of 2020,
14:37Mario proposed to Amy.
14:39He was so excited
14:40to have a future with her,
14:42to get married,
14:43to have kids,
14:45and to grow old together.
14:49I remember seeing someone post something
14:51that they had heard
14:53that Mario had passed
14:55and I feel like I blacked out.
14:58I didn't want to believe it.
15:03But at that point,
15:05you started talking to other friends.
15:07It started to become real
15:08and then you started realizing
15:10what had happened.
15:12Why did this happen?
15:13Who was this person
15:15that would have killed him?
15:17How is that possible
15:18to want to kill somebody
15:20that is such a great human?
15:28I'm a defense attorney
15:29and Mario and Amy came to have dinner
15:32and he had mentioned to me
15:35that Amy might have some questions
15:38about a restraining order
15:40to prevent her ex
15:42from coming close to her
15:43or contacting her.
15:45Amy had a lot of concerns
15:47that her ex-boyfriend
15:48was stalking her.
15:50She was scared
15:50and she felt helpless.
15:52She was very hesitant
15:54to talk about her past,
15:56to even give out her phone number,
15:59to have people post pictures
16:01of her on social media.
16:03Amy was very, very frustrated
16:06with the system.
16:07So I wanted to make Amy feel better
16:11and potentially help her.
16:14It set enough red flags
16:16for one of her friends,
16:17a defense attorney,
16:18to take the initiative
16:19to contact our unit
16:21which specializes in stalking.
16:23So we ended up reaching out to Amy
16:26and she said
16:27she's been in fear of Jesse,
16:30her ex-boyfriend.
16:31He calls her all the time.
16:32Hi Amy, it's Jesse.
16:34If you could please call
16:35or message me back at some point,
16:37really appreciate it.
16:38He shows up to places
16:39that she's at.
16:41She did try to get
16:42a restraining order
16:43but that restraining order
16:44had previously been denied
16:46because under the California law,
16:48stalking requires a threat
16:50and he never threatened Amy,
16:54not directly.
16:55So at the time,
16:57we could not criminally charge him
16:58with stalking
16:59but certainly we picked up
17:01a lot of red flags
17:02that she was the target
17:03of his obsession.
17:09Now, we need to make sure
17:10Amy is safe.
17:12So we had our investigators
17:14who specialize in threat assessment
17:16put her into
17:17a confidential location.
17:21Numerous detectives
17:22were still trying
17:23to locate Jesse Alvarez
17:24but we didn't know
17:25where he was
17:26and at this point,
17:27we were concerned
17:28that he may harm someone else.
17:30Stalkers target
17:31not only the object
17:32of their obsession
17:33but they hurt them
17:34by hurting the people
17:36that they love.
17:40Jesse had not been found
17:41at that time.
17:42We were scared.
17:44I didn't leave the house
17:45that day.
17:45There was just a consensus
17:47between all of us.
17:48Hey, lock your doors.
17:50Watch out.
17:51Jesse, to me,
17:52just seemed like a shark
17:53that was circling
17:54and circling
17:56and waiting
17:57for the perfect moment
17:58to strike.
18:13At this point,
18:14we're thinking to ourselves
18:16like, you know,
18:17Jesse Alvarez
18:17was the likely perpetrator
18:19that killed Mario
18:21but we were unable
18:23to locate Jesse.
18:28So, several investigators
18:30are conducting
18:30background checks
18:31on Jesse Alvarez
18:33looking for anything
18:34that could help us
18:35locate him.
18:37When I was interviewing Amy,
18:39I asked her,
18:40you know,
18:42what connections
18:42does Jesse have
18:43to San Diego County
18:44because she told me
18:46that she believed
18:47he lived in San Bernardino
18:48in Rancho Cucamonga.
18:50So, she told me
18:50that his brother, Ryan,
18:52lived in San Diego.
18:54That's the only link
18:56that she was aware of
18:57that Jesse would have
18:58to San Diego.
19:01As detectives
19:02start to look for Jesse,
19:03they start pinging his phone.
19:05They located his phone
19:07at an address
19:08on Fermé Avenue.
19:10The location
19:11was about 10 minutes
19:13away from the crime scene.
19:15Sergeant Leahy drives
19:16by the 9,200 block
19:17of Fermé
19:18and sees a Volkswagen Golf
19:20parked at a residence there,
19:22which we believe
19:24may have been used
19:25in the crime
19:25based on surveillance video.
19:27We quickly run
19:29the registration
19:29of the vehicle
19:30through our computer systems
19:32and it comes back
19:33to a Ryan Alvarez,
19:36Jesse Alvarez's brother.
19:39As this is happening,
19:41investigators observe
19:42family members
19:43arriving to the location
19:44and going into the house.
19:46Our fear at that point
19:48is that the suspect
19:49could be inside
19:50and he could be getting
19:51rid of evidence.
19:52So a decision
19:54is made at that point
19:55to secure the house
19:56and obtain
19:58a search warrant.
20:01We had a number
20:03of uniformed officers
20:04surround the residence.
20:05The occupants inside
20:07were directed to exit.
20:09The last person
20:11to exit the home
20:12was Jesse
20:12and we had already
20:14predetermined
20:15that as each family member
20:17came out of the house,
20:18they were going to be
20:19assigned to a detective
20:20before any other discussions
20:23amongst themselves occur.
20:25All the family members
20:26were shocked.
20:28However,
20:30Jesse wasn't curious
20:31as to why he was placed
20:33in handcuffs.
20:34He's not asking
20:35why any of this
20:36is happening.
20:37It was rather strange.
20:39But probable cause
20:41existed at this point
20:42to arrest him.
20:43So Jesse was transported
20:45down to police headquarters.
20:48Jesse's mom,
20:50dad,
20:50and brother Ryan
20:51were all interviewed
20:53outside of Ryan's house
20:55in the detective's vehicles.
20:57All three of them
20:58indicated to us
20:59that Jesse
21:00unannounced
21:01left the house
21:02early in the morning,
21:03which was inconsistent
21:04from his regular routine,
21:06and that he borrowed
21:07Ryan's car
21:08without permission.
21:11Jesse had been
21:11living there
21:12with his brother Ryan
21:13for several weeks
21:14and he told his family
21:15that he had gone hiking
21:16in the morning
21:17but he was not
21:17wearing hiking clothes
21:18and he did not come back
21:19looking like he had exercised.
21:22But the family said
21:23they did not believe
21:24the story that he told
21:25about where he went
21:25that morning.
21:29At that point,
21:30we know we need
21:30to get into the house
21:31because we have not
21:33located the murder weapon.
21:34So we serve
21:35the search warrant
21:36and in the garage,
21:37investigators find
21:39two firearms.
21:40One of the firearms
21:42is a rifle
21:43and it is concealed
21:44in a guitar gun case.
21:46The other was
21:47a handgun.
21:49Both the handgun
21:50and the rifle
21:52were painted white.
21:53The fact that
21:54the weapons
21:55were painted white
21:56was incredibly important
21:57to the investigation
21:58because there was
21:59a witness that
22:00had described
22:00the suspect
22:02using a white item
22:04and placing it
22:05to the victim's head.
22:08We also locate
22:09several pieces
22:11of clothing
22:12and items
22:14related to
22:15Cathedral Catholic
22:16High School.
22:17Our suspect,
22:18Jesse Alvarez,
22:19had no connection
22:20to the school.
22:21My thoughts were
22:22Jesse was obtaining
22:24all these items
22:25in order to
22:26go to the school
22:27and essentially
22:29camouflage himself
22:32to the school.
22:32Jesse not only
22:33had the white
22:34Glock firearm
22:35we believe
22:36was used in the murder,
22:37but he had a rifle
22:39with extended magazines
22:40and a guitar case.
22:41He easily could have
22:42walked onto that campus
22:44with his guitar case
22:45with that rifle in it.
22:46This guitar case
22:47was not for a guitar.
22:49Specifically,
22:50a gun case
22:51made to look
22:52like a guitar case.
22:53Based on what
22:54we were finding,
22:55I'm asking myself
22:56if his ultimate plan
22:57was to go to that
22:58high school
22:58and either commit
22:59mass shooting
23:00or target Amy there.
23:14Mario's murder
23:15just shook
23:16our community.
23:17Students
23:18were devastated.
23:20His colleagues,
23:21friends, and family
23:22were devastated.
23:24When we returned back
23:25to the crime scene
23:27to do additional
23:28investigation,
23:29his students
23:29were already
23:30in front of his home.
23:32Flowers out,
23:33candles lit.
23:36The football players
23:37brought their jerseys,
23:38flowers,
23:39candles,
23:40all to show
23:41their respect
23:41for their coach.
23:43He was so beloved,
23:45not only from his players,
23:46but also his students.
23:47It really stunned me
23:48just seeing that
23:50outpouring of love
23:51from the community.
23:58So, based on the information
24:00that we have so far,
24:02we had located items
24:03that were indicative
24:04that Jesse Alvarez
24:06was trying to camouflage
24:07himself and go
24:08to Cathedral High School
24:09and now we have
24:10a rifle that is located
24:12within a guitar case.
24:14So, my first thought
24:15was,
24:16was this suspect
24:17planning to conduct
24:18a mass shooting
24:19at a school?
24:22So, I called Ramona
24:23before the interview
24:24with Jesse
24:25and I asked her,
24:27I said,
24:27hey, can you ask Amy
24:29to tell me
24:31what the hooks are
24:32into Jesse?
24:34You know,
24:34what are things
24:35that I can talk
24:35to him about
24:36to ingratiate myself?
24:39Amy said Jesse
24:40obtained a master's
24:41in diplomacy
24:42and he was one
24:44of those guys
24:44that thought he was
24:44smarter than everybody else.
24:49I won't beat
24:49around the bush.
24:50Did you date
24:51a girl named Amy?
24:53We were friends.
24:54Okay.
24:55But we did not date.
24:56She expressed romantic
24:58interest to me,
24:58but I always said,
25:00no, I just want to
25:01keep this friends.
25:02And then he starts
25:03to say,
25:03well, she may have
25:04believed we dated,
25:05that she has this
25:06histrionic disorder
25:08where she thinks
25:08relationships are closer
25:09than they are.
25:10He was very comfortable
25:11lying to these two
25:12homicide detectives
25:13sitting right in front
25:14of him.
25:15I will tell you that
25:16from what we learned
25:17today,
25:18there's a different
25:19interpretation of yours
25:20and Amy's relationship.
25:21She claims there was
25:22a lot of stalking behavior,
25:25you trying to contact her,
25:26you jealous about
25:27the new fiance.
25:29I had no idea
25:30that she was in
25:30our relationship.
25:32We could see the wheels
25:33returning in his head
25:34that his story
25:34was not flying with us.
25:37Let's switch gears
25:38a little bit
25:38and talk about
25:40this house at 92-11.
25:42You recently moved there.
25:44Who do you live with there?
25:46My brother, Ryan.
25:48Okay, do your parents
25:49live there as well?
25:50No, sir.
25:52They're visiting this weekend.
25:53Your mom was interviewed
25:54by another homicide detectives.
25:56She says,
25:56you know what?
25:57My son left at 6.30
25:58this morning.
25:59He left in my other son's
26:00car without his permission.
26:01No, I was in my car,
26:04so that's weird.
26:05We told them,
26:06hey, your dad says
26:07the same thing.
26:07Hey, your brother
26:08says the same thing.
26:09Everybody agrees
26:10you left this morning,
26:11took your brother's car,
26:12did not have permission,
26:14and we found
26:15the white weapons
26:16in the garage.
26:18And a witness
26:18interviewed at the scene
26:20reported seeing
26:21one male holding
26:22a white object
26:23to another male's head.
26:25I've never seen
26:26anybody with a white gun.
26:27What kind of gun
26:28is this white gun?
26:30It's a Glock 19.
26:31Why do you want
26:32to make your gun white?
26:33It's a stupid question,
26:34but now I need to know.
26:36I mean, honestly,
26:37just because I like
26:38Star Wars
26:39and it makes me think
26:40of stormtroopers.
26:41Oh, yeah.
26:42This homicide
26:43was perpetrated
26:44by a white firearm,
26:47and Jesse's firearm
26:48was painted white.
26:51At that point,
26:52you could see
26:53that Jesse was starting
26:54to become uncomfortable.
26:55I don't know
26:56why it went this way today,
26:58but it's Captain Obvious
26:59in this room
27:00what happened today.
27:02Somehow this got out of hand,
27:03right?
27:04So just tell me
27:05just how it would happen,
27:08if you would.
27:11Jesse realizes
27:12that in a matter
27:14of hours,
27:16we had accumulated
27:18quite a bit of evidence.
27:19He then recognizes
27:21that he's being
27:22caught in lies,
27:23and now he's going
27:24to have to provide
27:24an explanation to us.
27:26I guess I'm just,
27:28you know,
27:28a little confused
27:29and scared of just,
27:31like, you know.
27:31What's next?
27:32Yeah.
27:33I guess I'm just curious,
27:35though, like,
27:35like, you talked about,
27:38you know,
27:39like, legal proceedings
27:40and court
27:40and what have you,
27:41and I'm just...
27:42And then he slowly
27:44started to lay it out
27:46what happened.
27:47Jesse admitted
27:48that he drove down there.
27:49His intentions
27:51were to speak with Mario
27:53because he believed
27:53he was mistreating Amy.
27:57Like, you're talking
27:57about their engaged.
27:58I did not know that.
28:01But, yeah,
28:02I have to care about her,
28:03her well-being.
28:04she had a lot
28:05of really toxic
28:06relationships
28:06when I first met her,
28:07and at times
28:09I'd seen her,
28:09like, you know,
28:10just very drunk
28:11and drugged
28:12or, you know,
28:12being abused
28:13and what have you.
28:15And I just thought,
28:17well, you know,
28:18it's a Monday morning.
28:20I could probably
28:20catch him
28:21on his way to work.
28:24Jesse admits
28:24that he approaches
28:25Mario at the back
28:26of the car,
28:27and Jesse says
28:28that he fears
28:29for his safety
28:30and that Mario
28:32starts grabbing
28:33onto him.
28:36He was actually
28:37grabbing me
28:38and, yeah,
28:41holding onto me
28:42and, like, you know,
28:44like, clenching me
28:45really hard and stuff,
28:46and I pushed him away,
28:48and then I did draw,
28:53you know,
28:54and I just
28:56shot, like,
28:57he didn't stop,
28:58like, he just
28:58continued to lunge
28:59at me.
29:00I shot again,
29:01like, again,
29:01like, this was
29:02all very fast,
29:03that's why I kind of
29:04just kept firing
29:05kind of aimlessly,
29:07because I really
29:08was afraid
29:09for my safety,
29:10and he just
29:11wouldn't stop.
29:13It made no sense.
29:14He admitted
29:15he shot Mario
29:16six times,
29:17but he never
29:18described any
29:19actual threat
29:20that Mario
29:20presented.
29:21He said that Mario
29:22got angry,
29:24said he was
29:24going to kick his ass,
29:25something to that effect,
29:26and then he empties,
29:27you know,
29:28numerous rounds
29:29into the head and face.
29:30That's not self-defense.
29:33There's nothing
29:34that we take
29:34more serious
29:35than the loss
29:36of a human being.
29:37Oh, absolutely.
29:37With that being said,
29:40tonight you are
29:41under arrest for murder.
29:43Jesse's booked
29:44into jail,
29:44and we charged him
29:46with one count
29:47of first-degree murder.
29:50In our analysis,
29:51it was obvious to us
29:52that this was
29:52a first-degree murder.
29:54Having Jesse
29:55in custody
29:56was only the first piece
29:57of solving this case.
29:58We knew that Jesse
29:59was going to go to trial
30:00for this murder
30:01and that his defense
30:02would be self-defense,
30:03but the motive
30:04all pointed to
30:05the stalking activity,
30:07and I believe
30:08that this was
30:09a callous plan
30:09to kill
30:10without any remorse.
30:12So we needed
30:13to prove
30:13that Jesse
30:15premeditated
30:15the murder
30:16of Mario Fierro.
30:27So at this point,
30:29we had a confession
30:29from Jesse,
30:30but it was based
30:31on a claim
30:32that it was self-defense.
30:33So we needed
30:34to collect
30:35as much evidence
30:35as possible
30:36to build a case
30:37against him
30:38for the murder
30:38of Mario Fierro.
30:40We met
30:41as an investigative team
30:43with District Attorney
30:44Ramona McCarthy,
30:45and we identified
30:46what are the things
30:47we need to do
30:48to establish
30:49that it was premeditated.
30:51I did a Google warrant,
30:52so any of his devices
30:54that are linked
30:54via Gmail
30:56will automatically
30:57back up,
30:58so you'll get
30:58replicated digital
30:59evidence on those.
31:01So this thing
31:01was just beginning.
31:02That Google return
31:04really gave us insight
31:06into a mind
31:07of a stalker.
31:10For months,
31:11he would go online
31:12and he started
31:13adding as many friends
31:15and family of Amy's
31:17as he could.
31:18He would send them
31:19private messages.
31:20Hey, Amy and I,
31:22you know,
31:22we've lost contact.
31:23Do you have
31:24her updated phone number?
31:26He was truly
31:27obsessively stalking Amy.
31:29We learned that
31:30Jesse was following
31:31over 470
31:32social media accounts
31:34that were associated
31:35to the high school.
31:35And what we also
31:36came to learn
31:37is that he learned
31:38of the engagement
31:39through a public
31:40Facebook posting
31:41that Cathedral Catholic
31:42High School
31:43had generated
31:44announcing and celebrating
31:46the engagement
31:48between Amy and Mario.
31:50The love of his life,
31:51Amy,
31:52his ex-girlfriend,
31:53is now engaged
31:54to Mario Fierro.
31:55And from that point,
31:57we believe he shifted
31:59his focus
32:00to stalking Mario.
32:02Within hours
32:03of that posting
32:04coming out,
32:05Jesse began conducting
32:06numerous Google searches
32:08and going to paid websites
32:10to try to identify
32:11who Mario Fierro was,
32:13where he lived,
32:14what cars he drove.
32:15He starts looking up
32:16how to shoot
32:17and kill somebody.
32:18He looks up
32:19self-defense,
32:20how busy
32:20the San Diego police are,
32:22do they track
32:23your cell phone,
32:24which explains
32:24why he didn't
32:25bring his phone
32:25to the crime scene.
32:27And he looks up,
32:28does a shot
32:29to the head kill.
32:30Jesse was enraged
32:33to the point
32:33that he could not
32:35stop himself.
32:36Towards the end
32:37of 2020,
32:38while researching
32:39how he was going
32:41to murder Mario,
32:42he was posting
32:43social media posts
32:45claiming to be
32:46a student
32:47at Cathedral Catholic
32:48High School.
32:48He would go on campus
32:50talking to other students
32:52and other faculty
32:53claiming that he was
32:54an alumni at the school
32:56trying to now get a job
32:57to be a teacher.
32:59We had no idea
33:02he was on campus
33:03in the weeks prior
33:04to Mario's murder,
33:06taking hundreds
33:07of photographs
33:08of the campus,
33:10essentially a blueprint
33:11of the campus,
33:12and also specifically
33:13focusing inside
33:15Amy's classroom.
33:17And Amy was
33:18completely vulnerable.
33:20When I heard about
33:21that after the fact,
33:22that was terrifying,
33:23frankly.
33:24It was on another level.
33:25I just couldn't fathom
33:28someone going
33:29to that length
33:30with his activities
33:31at the school.
33:32Just shocking, honestly.
33:36The first time
33:37he applied to get a job
33:38at Cathedral Catholic
33:40High School,
33:40he got an interview.
33:42We could figure out
33:44through Jesse's
33:45computer information,
33:47Google information,
33:48tracking his cell phone,
33:49that four days after
33:51he had that interview,
33:52he purchased a rifle
33:54and a 9mm Glock.
33:56On his phone,
33:57there were pictures
33:58of Jesse that he has
33:59of himself training
34:00in the desert to shoot,
34:02and he was going
34:03to a gun training center
34:04located in northern San Diego
34:06to practice for weeks
34:08on end to obtain
34:09certificates for firearms usage.
34:12For weeks,
34:13he was constantly
34:14at the range,
34:15firing his gun,
34:16and learning to shoot.
34:18And the last thing
34:20he researched
34:21the night before
34:22he murdered Mario
34:23was how to shoot
34:25a gun without flinching.
34:27It gave us
34:28a pretty clear understanding
34:30that this murder
34:32was not sudden,
34:33that it was planned,
34:36that it was premeditated,
34:37and that he spent
34:38a lot of time
34:39thinking and researching
34:40what he was going to do.
34:42The other thing
34:43we noted
34:43that during his searches,
34:44he knew when Cathedral
34:45High School
34:46was going back to school.
34:47the first day
34:48after COVID.
34:49So he waited out there
34:50knowing that Mario
34:52was going to leave
34:52to go teach at school
34:54and would be coming
34:55out to his car.
34:57As I was reviewing
34:58the evidence,
34:59it became crystal clear
35:00to me that his plan
35:02was to murder Mario.
35:03Because he was
35:04the person he believed
35:06was responsible
35:06for taking away
35:07his prior girlfriend.
35:14The plan started
35:16in 2019.
35:19Jesse started stalking Amy
35:20after she broke up
35:22with him
35:22and he became
35:23fixated on her.
35:25For months,
35:25Jesse was stalking Amy,
35:27calling her nonstop,
35:29following her,
35:30showing up to random places.
35:31He's not taking no
35:33for an answer.
35:35When he sees Amy
35:37and Mario's engagement
35:38announcement
35:38on social media,
35:40Jesse's jealousy
35:42consumed him.
35:43So the next day,
35:45on December 22nd,
35:47Jesse starts to
35:48conduct computer searches
35:50of Amy
35:51and Mario Fierro.
35:54One of the searches
35:55that Jesse conducted
35:56was how to kill
35:58your ex's fiancée.
36:00Based on what we located
36:02at the residence,
36:03we believe Jesse
36:05was planning to go
36:05to the high school
36:06to target Amy there.
36:07He went online
36:09and started applying
36:09for faculty positions
36:11at Cathedral Catholic
36:12High School
36:13where Amy was
36:14a teacher.
36:16Then,
36:16Jesse began tracking
36:17down Mario's address
36:19and mapping the area.
36:20In January,
36:21he purchased two firearms,
36:23a 9mm Glock,
36:24and a rifle.
36:25Next,
36:26Jesse took shooting lessons
36:28at a pistol range.
36:30Then he began stalking Mario,
36:32closely watching
36:33his daily routines.
36:35And the planning continued
36:36as he researched
36:37how not to leave
36:38evidence behind.
36:40Jesse knew the first day
36:41back to school
36:41after the COVID lockdown
36:43would be the perfect
36:44opportunity
36:44to enact his plan.
36:47That morning,
36:48Jesse woke up early
36:49and to prevent his own car
36:50from being linked
36:51to the crime,
36:52he borrowed his brother's car
36:53and drove it to North Park.
36:56Jesse waited in his car,
36:58right in front of Mario's
36:59complex
36:59for almost an hour
37:01for Mario to exit
37:03his apartment.
37:05Mario opened the trunk
37:06of his car,
37:07and that's when
37:08Jesse began shooting.
37:10He shoots him numerous times,
37:12made sure he was dead,
37:14and then he escaped
37:15in his brother's car,
37:16and he returned home.
37:21This was a cold-blooded,
37:22premeditated murder.
37:24And it was voluminous
37:26in terms of evidence.
37:29We just hope the jury
37:30tracks with us
37:31at the trial.
37:38I went to the trial,
37:40and it was surreal
37:42to watch Jesse
37:45and his demeanor.
37:46It validated
37:48the depth of Jesse's obsession.
37:50In court,
37:52Jesse was so persistent
37:53and determined
37:54to speak with Amy
37:55that he was trying
37:56to pass notes to Amy
37:58or at least get her attention.
37:59Like, he still thought
38:00there was a chance
38:01to the point that
38:02his attorneys had
38:03to calm him down.
38:05Amy was already
38:07feeling very let down
38:09by the system.
38:10She had tried
38:12to get a restraining order,
38:13and it didn't work.
38:15Mario was shot and killed,
38:18and she knew Jesse
38:19was never going to give up.
38:22I got the sense
38:24that she had lost hope
38:26that anybody
38:26would stop Jesse.
38:36The entire trial
38:38was the Jesse Alvarez show.
38:40There was a lot
38:41of theatrics.
38:42He was using a cane.
38:44He couldn't even
38:45lift his head up.
38:47Jesse really thought
38:49he could pull one over
38:50on the jury.
38:51Oh my gosh,
38:52like, these are some
38:52really weird search.
38:53It was very difficult
38:55to be in the court.
38:57To me, it's hard
38:58to even give
39:00that person a name.
39:02My sister and I
39:03couldn't look at him,
39:05but we wanted to.
39:06We wanted to see
39:08what kind of person
39:09would do this.
39:16I have never had a case
39:19with such a wealth
39:20of evidence
39:21demonstrating premeditation.
39:23However,
39:24the defense was
39:25that Jesse acted
39:27in self-defense.
39:28But before the trial
39:30started,
39:31we received
39:32an audio recording
39:33from that surveillance
39:34footage of the shots
39:36fired that killed Mario.
39:39That audio
39:40was very significant
39:42at trial
39:43because you could hear
39:45the cadence
39:46of those shots.
39:49Those shots
39:51sound methodical.
39:53Those shots
39:54were done
39:54with a purpose.
39:57There's a shot,
39:59a long pause,
40:01and then several shots
40:03to the head.
40:05When you listen
40:06to that audio,
40:07it is so incredibly eerie.
40:10It made it crystal clear
40:12this was not an act
40:13of self-defense.
40:14This was a meticulously
40:16plotted execution
40:17of Mario.
40:21In my 15 years
40:22as a homicide investigator,
40:24I have never seen
40:25a case that showed
40:26more premeditation,
40:27more planning,
40:28and unwavering commitment
40:30to commit a murder.
40:34Jesse had several opportunities
40:36to back out of this,
40:37but he chose to go
40:37to Mario's house,
40:39locate him,
40:39and gun him down
40:40in his driveway.
40:41The sitting and waiting
40:43outside of Mario's house
40:44to then execute him
40:47to me shows
40:49that he's just
40:50a cold-blooded killer.
40:52This was the first
40:54homicide case I had
40:56working with
40:58a stalking victim,
40:59so it personally
41:02hit me very hard.
41:03I really wanted
41:04to ensure justice
41:05was going to be had
41:06and that Jesse
41:07can never do this again.
41:14The verdict count one
41:15we the jury
41:16meet above entitled
41:16cause when the defendant,
41:19Jesse Milton Alvarez,
41:21guilty of the crime
41:23of murder
41:23in the first degree.
41:26Jesse was convicted
41:28of first-degree murder
41:29with the special circumstance
41:31of lying in wait
41:32along with the allegation
41:33of using a firearm
41:34during the commission
41:35of that murder.
41:36He was sentenced
41:37to life without
41:38the possibility
41:39of parole
41:40plus an additional
41:4125 years to life.
41:46I'm glad
41:47justice was served,
41:51but none of this
41:53is bringing my friend back.
41:54There was a memorial
41:55at Cathedral for Mario
41:57on the football field.
41:58It was a lot
41:59of Mario's close friends
42:00and family,
42:01the faculty,
42:02and it was an opportunity
42:04for, you know,
42:05people to come together
42:06and grieve.
42:08What gets me
42:09when I think about
42:10losing Mario
42:11was the memories
42:12that were going to come,
42:13the future that he had.
42:15He was so into
42:17molding the youth
42:18and being a teacher.
42:20He was super excited
42:21to be a dad.
42:23He was going to be great
42:24in this next phase of life,
42:25and that was just
42:26robbed from him.
42:33He was so into
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