2 Convicted In Machete Attack That Killed Man, Injured Woman In Lake Forest

LAKE FOREST, CA — Two men were convicted Tuesday in a machete and knife attack that killed a man and wounded his girlfriend seven years ago at a Lake Forest apartment complex, according to court records.

Jose Rafael Andrademembreno, 29, and Edwin Francisco Diaz, 25, were both convicted of first-degree murder with special circumstances of lying in wait as well as conspiracy and the personal use of a deadly weapon. They are scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 23 and face life in prison without the possibility of parole.

They are accused of the Oct. 1, 2018, killing of Marco Morales.

The trouble began when Morales sold a .22-caliber rifle to a teenager, Jose Henriquez, who angered Morales when he "paraded" the weapon on social media, Deputy District Attorney James Applegate said.

"Morales didn't like that ... and he took the rifle back," the prosecutor said.

Morales whacked the teen over the head with the rifle and didn't give the boy his money back, Applegate said.

Henriquez told Andrademembreno what happened, allegedly sparking the conspiracy to kill Morales, the prosecutor said.

Applegate said investigators later found Facebook Messenger data showing the suspects discussing the plan.

On the night of the attack, Morales and his girlfriend, Jessica Rodriguez, were in the apartment complex's jacuzzi area around 2 a.m. when the suspects coordinated the assault via text messages, Applegate said.

Xiomara Elizabeth Berrios, 25, said she was dating and living with Andrademembreno at the Forest Glen apartments in October 2018 when Morales was killed, according to court records.

When Berrios saw Morales and Rodriguez in a jacuzzi at the apartment complex early in the evening of the deadly attack, she went back to her room and told Andrademembreno they were there, according to prosecutors.

"A short time later, her brother, defendant Diaz, came to the apartment," prosecutors said in court papers. "She saw (Andrademembreno) take a machete out of the bedroom closet."

Then Berrios saw Andrademembreno, Diaz and a third person go to the jacuzzi with Membreno hopping a fence to open a gate, granting access to Diaz and the third person, prosecutors said.

Andrademembreno, Diaz and the third person attacked Morales as he got out of the jacuzzi, with the two defendants shouting out the MS-13 gang name multiple times, prosecutors said. Morales grabbed a patio chair to fend off his attackers before running away with his assailants in tow, prosecutors said.

Berrios stayed behind and stabbed Rodriguez, who managed to run away and survive, prosecutors alleged.

Berrios told authorities she saw Membreno and Diaz running away, still brandishing their weapons and laughing before jumping into a getaway car, prosecutors said.

Morales' body was found around 5:40 a.m., and he had been nearly decapitated, according to court documents. Rodriguez suffered cuts to her upper chest, Applegate said in the first trial.

A gang expert for prosecutors said that the suspects' ties to MS-13 partly motivated the attack, Applegate said.

"Everything is about ... respect" with the gang, the prosecutor said.

Andrademembreno, the prosecutor alleged, has been in the gang since he was 16.

"Anyone who disrespects MS-13 will be killed," the prosecutor said.

Morales' DNA was found on Membreno's bloodied jeans, Applegate said.

Andrademembreno's attorney, Paul Rogers, argued that Berrios lied and pointed to multiple inconsistent statements to authorities and prosecutors and in her testimony.

"She came here because they went to her" with a deal, Rogers argued.

A mistrial was declared in June in a trial of Andrademembreno and Berrios, when Rodriguez refused to testify. After that, prosecutors crafted a plea deal with Berrios agreeing to testify in a retrial of Andrademembreno and Diaz.

Rodriguez had been granted immunity but still refused to testify, leading Orange County Superior Court Judge Kimberly Menninger to hold her in contempt after the first trial, court records show.
Berrios has agreed to plead guilty to first-degree murder and faces 25 years to life in prison.

City News Service contributed to this report.