Public Safety

UPDATED: Jury Selection Starts Monday for Trial of Man Accused in Racial Killing

RIVERSIDE (CNS) – Jury selection got underway Monday for the trial of a young man accused of gunning down an 18-year-old partygoer in Moreno Valley in an ambush connected to an earlier fight that prosecutors say was fueled by racial animosity. Darren Peter Zesk, 22, of Riverside is charged with first-degree murder, special circumstance allegations of lying in wait and perpetrating a hate crime, as well as sentence-enhancing gun and great bodily injury allegations, for the 2020 slaying of Massai Jevon Cole of Inglewood. Riverside County Superior Court Judge Bernard Schwartz finished ruling on pretrial motions Thursday and ordered multiple panels of prospective jurors to the Riverside Hall of Justice Monday for screening as to their availability and qualifications. The process is expected to take all week. Zesk is being held in lieu of $2 million bail at the Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta. His cousin, 21-year-old Jared Lee Zesk of Riverside, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced last June to 11 years in state prison. Prosecutors dropped a murder charge against him as part of the plea agreement. Darren Zesk is accused of gunning down Cole in the predawn hours of Feb. 2, 2020. According to a trial brief filed by Deputy District Attorney Kevin Beecham, the Zesks were among dozens of people who gathered at 16512 Century St., near Amy Court, for a house party that turned confrontational, with the two cousins engaging in fisticuffs with Cole and other celebrants. The defendants fled from the property, leaving in Darren Zesk’s car, but returned 90 minutes later, arriving about 2:30 a.m., the brief said. The document alleged Darren Zesk was known to bear ill-will toward Blacks, listening to music with "white power" overtones and texting friends with messages containing the "N" word, in one instance writing that Black people "belong in the zoo." Court papers allege Darren Zesk left his cousin behind near the car while he went back inside the party house, getting Cole’s attention. Beecham alleged that Zesk drew the victim out of the residence on the pretext of wanting him to finish the fight that had erupted earlier. "While walking near the side gate from the backyard, the defendant turned around and shot the victim in the torso," according to the brief. "Jared Zesk then fired several rounds in the air, and then Darren Zesk fired additional shots toward the residence. The Zesk cousins then ran back to their vehicle and fled the area." The pair drove to Riverside, as partygoers called 911, according to the prosecution. Paramedics reached the house within minutes and discovered Cole mortally wounded. He died at the scene. Witnesses provided sufficient information for sheriff’s deputies to immediately identify the alleged perpetrators. Darren Zesk was arrested without incident a half-hour later on Huston Drive in Riverside, according to sheriff’s officials. Jared Zesk was taken into custody three days afterward in Jurupa Valley. The defense successfully argued before a trial court judge last year for dismissal of the hate crime allegation. However, the District Attorney’s Office appealed the decision, and an appellate court judge reinstated it. Zesk has no documented prior felony convictions. Copyright 2023, City News Service, Inc.

By: Pristine Villarreal

May 8, 2023

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