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…