A Pomona courtroom heard opening statements this week in the murder trial of a 20-year-old Azusa man accused of stabbing his 17-year-old girlfriend six times outside his home two years ago, after she accused him of cheating. Daniel Rodriguez, who was 18 at the time of the Dec. 20, 2024 killing, is charged with murder and personally using a deadly weapon in the death of Angelina Gonzales, an Azusa High School student remembered by her family as a cheerleader and art competitor.
Prosecutors Lay Out Sequence of Punches, a Kitchen Knife, Then a Chase
Deputy District Attorney Brittany Saleeby told jurors the case is not about self-defense, according to mynewsla.com. Saleeby said Rodriguez punched Gonzales twice in the face before she tried to leave his home in the 300 block of North Soldano Avenue, then armed himself with a knife from the kitchen, followed her outside and stabbed her. The outlet reported the confrontation began after Gonzales accused Rodriguez of cheating on her during a fight at the house.
According to the same account, Saleeby told jurors that Gonzales asked Rodriguez for help while she lay on the sidewalk after being stabbed. The prosecutor presented photos of Gonzales, 911 calls, cell phone video, security camera footage and officer body-camera video as part of her opening statement, the article notes. Rodriguez faces a possible maximum sentence of 26 years to life in state prison if convicted as charged, per the same report.
Defense Says Stabbing Happened in a Sudden Quarrel
Rodriguez's attorney, Gary W. Meastas, told jurors his client acted impulsively and in the heat of the moment, arguing the killing amounts to voluntary manslaughter rather than murder, as reported by Patch. Meastas acknowledged that Rodriguez stabbed Gonzales but said it occurred in the heat of passion or a sudden quarrel. He also said there was no video of the stabbing itself and no eyewitnesses, and that Rodriguez cooperated with investigators and was brutally honest when questioned, according to Patch's account of the opening statements.
The defense argues the killing amounts to voluntary manslaughter rather than murder, an offense addressed in California Penal Code section 192. The Judicial Council's CALCRIM supplement includes CALCRIM No. 571, on imperfect self-defense.
A Night That Began at a Cheer Banquet
Rodriguez and Gonzales had an off-and-on relationship and had reunited at least two weeks before the stabbing, according to mynewsla.com's reporting on the opening statements. That night, Rodriguez picked Gonzales up from a cheer banquet in Pomona and took her to his home in Azusa, the outlet reported. The two argued for about 30 minutes, per the same account.
Rodriguez told sheriff's homicide detectives who interviewed him on Dec. 21, 2024, that Gonzales pushed him away and started hitting him, and that he had gotten scratches on his shoulders while working out at a gym two days earlier, mynewsla.com reported. He admitted to detectives that he caught up to Gonzales and stabbed her two to three times on the sidewalk, then fled in his mother's white Hyundai Sonata and left the knife behind, according to the outlet. He told investigators he wanted to know whether Gonzales was okay and did not know she was already dead when they interviewed him, the report states.
A Roommate's Account, and an Arrest Off the 605
Felipa Juarez, who lived with Rodriguez and his mother, heard an argument in the home on the night of the stabbing, according to mynewsla.com. Azusa Police Officer Eliasar Cordero said Juarez told him that Rodriguez and Gonzales had arrived home around 9 p.m. that night, per the outlet's account. Juarez has denied telling police that she heard Gonzales screaming for help, the report notes, a discrepancy raised during the proceedings.
Rodriguez drove to Pasadena after fleeing the scene and was arrested off the 605 Freeway the following morning, mynewsla.com reported. Gonzales's mother, Leticia Caraballo, described her daughter as an over-achiever who always loved school and participated in art competitions and cheerleading, the outlet reported. The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office announced the murder charge against Rodriguez in the days after the killing, according to the District Attorney's office. The trial, unfolding in Pomona Superior Court, is set to continue on Monday.
