Woodland men sentenced for 2019 gang-related shooting that killed teen and wounded two

A Yolo County judge sentenced two men each to more than 20 years in prison for their roles in a 2019 gang-related shooting in Woodland that killed a 16-year-old boy and wounded two men.

Francisco Geovanni Ponce, 23, was sentenced to 21 years in prison and Joseph Vincent Gonzalez Jr., 27, was sentenced to 29 years in prison for the shooting that killed Alvaro Gamera of Esparto, the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office announced Thursday in a news release.

Judge David Rosenberg sentenced Ponce and Gonzalez, both of Woodland, on Monday. Prosecutors said Gonzalez’s prison sentence included sentencing on an unrelated assault conviction, and he had a previous conviction considered a strike under the state’s “Three Strikes” law.

Ponce, Gonzalez and two other men, all of whom were suspected gang members, were in a vehicle on North Street, according to the District Attorney’s Office. Gamera and two other men, all suspected members of a rival gang, were walking along North Street.

Prosecutors said Gonzalez stopped the car, before Ponce stepped out of the car and fired gunshots at the pedestrians. Gamera was fatally struck while the two other men were wounded.

The shooting was reported shortly after 7 p.m. on Oct. 21, 2019, in the area of North and East streets in Woodland. As officers arrived at the scene, a witness pointed to a vehicle involved in the shooting leaving.

Officers pursued the vehicle, which did not stop. The car arrived at Woodland Memorial Hospital, and officers found two men inside had gunshot wounds. The men were treated in the emergency room.

Police returned to the North and East streets shooting scene, and a detective found a body lying north of the intersection next to the railroad tracks. The detective performed CPR on the injured victim, later identified as Gamera, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Woodland police detectives continued to investigate the shooting and uncovered sufficient evidence that led to the arrests of Ponce and Gonzalez in April of 2021. Prosecutors said the gun used in the shooting was never recovered.

Deputy District Attorney Frits van der Hoek prosecuted the case. On March 22, an impaneled Yolo County criminal grand jury indicted Ponce and Gonzalez, which allowed the murder case to skip a preliminary hearing and move straight to trial.

Ponce and Gonzalez on May 10 pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter and one count of attempted homicide, according to Yolo Superior Court records. Ponce’s conviction included enhancement for using a gun.

“These are difficult cases. This shooting unfolded in a matter of seconds with no witnesses who could identify the attackers,” District Attorney Jeff Reisig said in the news release. “We are thankful for the dedication of the Woodland Police Department, who never stopped investigating this case. We will continue to pursue justice with these violent gang cases in an effort to keep our community safe.”