San Joaquin County prosecutors said Thursday they will seek the death penalty for Steven Guerrero Jr., the man charged in a 2024 triple homicide at a home near Lodi. The move cranks up the stakes in a case that has haunted an East Mettler Road neighborhood since deputies found three family members shot to death inside the house in June 2024.
According to FOX40, District Attorney Ron Freitas said Guerrero "tore a family apart and stole the peace of an entire neighborhood." The DA's office said it will review the available evidence and that it is prepared to pursue capital charges based on the allegations laid out in the complaint.
The charging documents, outlined by the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office, list three counts of first-degree murder with special-circumstance allegations, including lying in wait and murder during the commission of a burglary. Prosecutors have also filed burglary and firearm enhancements, the legal hooks that can make a case eligible for capital punishment.
The victims were identified as 69-year-old Kim Huynh, 60-year-old Joe Pena and 45-year-old Alfred Nguyen, whom deputies found during a welfare check in June 2024, according to CBS Sacramento. Family members had reported they could not reach the occupants for more than a week before deputies forced entry into the home, the outlet reported.
Investigators located and arrested Guerrero on Sept. 14, 2024, after months of work, authorities said in local coverage. FOX40 reports Guerrero was held to answer at a preliminary hearing in August 2025, and a jury trial is scheduled to begin Jan. 4, 2027.
Legal Stakes And Timing
The special-circumstance allegations in the complaint are the statutory mechanism that can make a defendant death-eligible under California law. At the same time, an executive moratorium on executions means the state has not carried out a death sentence since 2006. Governor Gavin Newsom in 2019 withdrew the state's lethal-injection protocol and put executions on hold, so any death sentence in this case would launch a lengthy appeals process and extended legal review while the moratorium remains in effect.
What Comes Next
The case is now headed into what is likely to be a long and combative pretrial period, with extensive briefing and evidentiary battles as both sides gear up for the scheduled January 2027 trial. District Attorney Ron Freitas has already signaled a willingness to pursue capital charges in other high-profile cases this year, including the Stockton serial-killing prosecution, suggesting his office expects and is prepared for extended litigation in cases it deems especially egregious.
The DA's office has said it will continue to provide updates as the case progresses. For now, court calendars and pretrial filings will offer the clearest view of how the prosecution plans to proceed, while local residents and the victims' families watch closely to see what happens at each new hearing on the road to trial.
