Defense: Client `Beyond Stupid,’ But Was Not Motivated by Racism in Killing

RIVERSIDE (CNS) – A young man who fatally shot an 18-year-old partygoer in Moreno Valley deliberately singled him out because he was Black, a prosecutor said Monday, but the defendant’s attorney contended that his client “got disrespected” and was only interested in taking revenge on whoever was available, regardless of race.

“That day, he was stupid, beyond stupid,” attorney Darryl Exum told jurors in his closing statement for the trial of 22-year-old Darren Peter Zesk. “He was there with a gun because he got disrespected. He wanted to get revenge. But it wasn’t against anybody in particular.”

Zesk 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 killing of Massai Jevon Cole of Inglewood.

Riverside County Deputy District Attorney Kevin Beecham alleged in his closing that when Zesk “lured” Cole out of the house at 16512 Century St., he intended to “ambush” the victim, “fulfilling a promise” that he’d made to his cousin, 21-year-old Jared Lee Zesk, to get back at those who had roughed him up at the party house.

“He had posted a racist song about killing Black people on two different social media sites,” Beecham told the jury. “That’s context.”

According to trial testimony, the defendant and his cousin joined dozens of others at the party, where people of all racial and ethnic backgrounds were mixing. As the excitement continued into the predawn hours of Feb. 2, 2020, there were confrontations, including one involving Jared Zesk and several other partygoers, resulting in Zesk taking a few thumps before he was pushed out the door.

Beecham alleged Darren Zesk was infuriated over his cousin’s treatment, and before leaving the premises, he openly vowed to “come back and shoot up the party.”

“He went and got guns for him and his cousin, and he returned to the house with a handgun hidden in his waistband,” the prosecutor said.

The young Riverside man went in and out of the house three or four times, leaving his cousin near his car parked a short distance away, according to Beecham.

Zesk got Cole’s attention, in what the prosecutor alleged was a specific effort to single out a Black person, but what Exum countered was his client’s desire to engage anyone he felt had shown disrespect to him and his cousin.

“Not one witness testified that Darren said, `I’m going to murder a Black guy,”‘ said the attorney, who is Black. “There is no evidence that he picked out Mr. Cole.”

The victim followed Zesk to the side of the house, as the defendant loudly repeated several times, “We’re going to fight,” Beecham told jurors, adding that the defendant used the “N” word at least once.

Exum dismissed the idea that the imprecation suggested Zesk’s actions were fueled by racial animosity. He played videos from the party in which an unidentified man is heard repeating the “N” word numerous times, referring to his “boys,” without eliciting anger from anyone around him.

The attorney also pointed out that Zesk had “pages and pages and pages of Black artists,” listing his favorites on social media sites. Two of his high school friends, both Black, were presented as character witnesses during the two-week trial, testifying that Zesk did not manifest signs of racial hatred when they knew him.

According to Exum, his client was “under intense emotion” when he returned to the party armed, and when he attacked Cole, “he shot from the hip,” not bothering to take aim because he was motivated only to shoot, not to kill.

“He shot Massai in the back, chest and elbow,” Beecham said. “He drew that weapon, pointed it and pulled the trigger.”

The prosecutor said the defendant wanted to “surprise” the victim and had every intention of killing him.

After the shooting, the cousins fled to Riverside. Cole died at the scene. Witnesses immediately identified the Zesks as the perpetrators, and they were arrested soon afterward.

Jared Zesk pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced last June to 11 years in state prison.

Superior Court Judge Bernard Schwartz sent the jury behind closed doors Monday afternoon to begin deliberations.

Zesk, who has no documented prior felony convictions, is being held on $2 million bail at the Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta.

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