OAKLAND — In a recent harrowing courtroom hearing, a 10-year-old boy took the stand to identify the man he allegedly witnessed shoot his father at point-blank range more than two years ago.
It all centers on the June 21, 2021 killing of 44-year-old Cesar Parrilla, who took his two sons to help a friend jumpstart a car on the 400 block of Capistrano Avenue in Oakland when he was shot. The suspect, 35-year-old Luis Estrada, allegedly confessed to police but claimed that Parrilla made a threatening gesture and had pulled guns him before during a longstanding feud, according to witness testimony.
The first witness of Estrada’s preliminary hearing in late October was Parrilla’s 10-year-old son, who testified he was playing on his phone when a green vehicle pulled up and the driver asked Parrilla, “Are you Cesa?” When Parrilla answered affirmatively, the driver pulled out a firearm, and the boy testified what happened next.
“He shot my dad,” Parrilla’s son testified, adding that he was somewhat familiar with guns from playing violent video games like Grand Theft Auto. He later identified Estrada as the shooter.
Oakland police Detective Robert Hardy testified that Estrada claimed during a police interview he had fired a small rifle into the air to scare Parrilla, who made a threatening gesture and told Estrada he’d kill him the next time they met. Hardy also testified that Estrada admitted to giving away his green station wagon and throwing the firearm into the water in Alameda, according to a transcript of the hearing.
Estrada and Parrilla had a “longstanding feud” because Parrilla “stole one or two dogs from him,” Hardy testified, recounting Estrada’s statement to police. Estrada also reportedly claimed that Parrilla had reached into the trunk, which Estrada’s lawyer argued that Estrada could have reasonably interpreted as a sign Parrilla was reaching for a gun. Hardy admitted during examination police had investigated Parrilla for allegedly pulling a gun on Estrada years earlier.
Alameda Superior Court Judge Jason Chin upheld the murder charge, but didn’t give his opinion of the evidence. The legal standard to advance a case past the preliminary hearing stage is probable cause, a much lower bar than the standard juries use to convict people of crimes. Estrada’s trial date has not yet been set.