LONG BEACH, Calif. — A man involved in the tragic shooting of a 69-year-old grandfather who was tending to his lawn has been sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Rhyan Burrell, 26, from Lynwood, received his sentence on Wednesday in a Long Beach Superior Court, following a guilty verdict on charges of first-degree murder and six counts of attempted murder.
The incident, which prosecutors described as a drive-by shooting, took the life of Jose Raul Corrales Aguilar in West Long Beach on Oct. 9, 2018. According to Robert Song, the prosecutor handling the case, Burrell, alongside co-defendant Terrel Warren, 29, of Long Beach, fired at a group of students and others from their car, a gold Nissan Altima.
Aguilar was innocently involved, caught in the crossfire while performing a mundane task outside his home near Canal Avenue and Sunset Street. The situation escalated when Warren and Burrell, reportedly seeking retaliation for an alleged assault on a relative by some students, took their grievance to the school earlier that day.
Tragically miscategorized among their intended targets, Aguilar was struck fatally by one of six shots fired by Burrell from a .40-caliber gun intended for the students. Warren had also fired eight rounds from a 9-millimeter handgun at a car suspected — mistakenly or not — of being involved in the assault, seriously injuring one of its passengers. Fortunately, no other bystanders suffered physical injuries during the shooting.
After an investigation, police arrested both men several weeks following the shooting. Evidence including the weapons used in the attack was seized; Burrell’s .40-caliber handgun was discovered in his refrigerator, and Warren’s 9-millimeter handgun was recovered during an unrelated arrest.
The special circumstance finding of shooting from a motor vehicle significantly influenced the harsh sentencing handed down to Burrell. Warren is awaiting his sentencing, scheduled for later this month.
Aguilar, remembered by his family as a devoted grandfather, was a mechanic who cared deeply for his ailing wife. He enjoyed taking his family on impromptu trips in his Volkswagen van, a detail that underscores the senseless nature of his death.
The community and Aguilar’s family have been left to reconcile the sudden violence that intruded upon what was a peaceful domestic scene, highlighting ongoing concerns about gun violence and its broad and unpredictable reach into the lives of ordinary citizens. The case serves as a poignant reminder of the unintended consequences that retaliatory violence can have, extending far beyond the intended targets and impacting entire communities.