11/18/10: Murder-for-Hire Participants Found Guilty – Silicon Valley RCFL Examiners Presented Findings at Trial

The town of Los Gatos, California is described as a "wealthy enclave of the Silicon Valley." The homicide rate is fairly low here compared to other towns, so when Mark Achilli, 53, was gunned down in his driveway in March 2008, law enforcement moved swiftly to find his killer. Authorities arrested restaurant owner Paul Garcia, 32, and two accomplices in what turned out to be a murder-for-hire plot. All three were charged with Mr. Achilli's death, and faced a jury of their peers in a two-month trial which started August 31, 2010. Prosecutors presented one case against all three suspects, which included digital evidence uncovered by Examiners Alan Lee, assigned to the SVRCFL by the San Jose Police Department, and Bryant Ling, an FBI Special Agent also assigned at the lab.

During the trial, witnesses testified about Garcia's apparent obsession over Tessa Donnelly, a bartender who worked in Garcia's restaurant, “Mountain Charley's Saloon and the 180 Restaurant and Bar." Garcia purchased the restaurant in September 2007 from Mr. Achilli — seven months later, the former owner would be dead.

Garcia's computer was submitted to the SVRCFL for examination. At trial, SVRCFL Examiner Lee testified about his findings which included Internet searches for "private investigators San Jose," "cheating spouses infidelity," and "how to make a Gemini woman fall in love." Examiner Lee testified that on January 7, 2008 someone using Garcia's personal, password-protected account conducted the Internet searches. Examiner Lee also testified that searches were done on Garcia's laptop for "Mark Achilli pictures," which called up a photo of Achilli standing in front of a 180 Restaurant logo. A link to that same photo was found on Daniel Chaidez' computer, who pleaded guilty to solicitation for Mr. Achilli's murder and is serving a 12-year eight-month sentence. Chaidez testified that Garcia gave him the photo link which he later sent to his cousin who served as the "hitman," A crumbled printout of that same image was found near Mr. Achilli's townhouse.

Garcia's lawyer claimed that the killing was related to a "drug collection gone bad," however, press reports published after the trial claimed the jury did not believe this story. Garcia faces a judge on December 9, 2010 where he may receive a life sentence for his crime.

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