Closing arguments in the murder trial of Alex Compian begin Wednesday morning in Courtroom 35 at Ventura County Superior Court.

Judge Charles Campbell, who is presiding in the trial, ordered the jury Tuesday to return to court at 9 a.,m. 

The judge will first read the jury instructions, which take about half an hour. Afterwards, attorneys will make closing arguments.

Prosecutor Rameen Minoui finished putting on evidence and testimony Tuesday morning. Compian's lawyer Willard Wiksell told the judge that he didn't have any witnesses to put on the stand.

During opening statements in the trial, Wiksell told jurors that Compian would testify. But the defense changed  its mind and decided to keep him off the stand.

Compian, 24, is on trial for the murder of his neighbor, Mario Cisneros, 50, who was found shot and lying near the side of his home in the 200 block of Alpine Street in Oxnard about 11:20 p.m. on Dec. 24, 2009, according to court testimony.

The former girlfriend of murder defendant Alex Compian testified today that she received a cell phone call from Compian on Christmas Eve 2009  saying that he had just  "smoked a homie" who had accused him of being a snitch.

Joanna Hernandez testified that she understood the word "smoked" to mean that he had killed someone.

Compian, 24, is on trial for the murder of his neighbor, Mario Cisneros, 50, who was found shot and lying near the side of his home in the 200 block of Alpine Street in Oxnard about 11:20 p.m. on Dec. 24, 2009, according to court testimony.

Hernandez told jurors that she had met Compian on November 2006 when she was 16 years old and he was 18. The two have a son who was born in July 2009, she testified.  Hernandez said she and Compian moved out of her mother's house in Oxnard  a month after the birth of her son.

She testified that they moved into the 200 block of Alpine with Compian's uncle. She said she knew the victim and his wife Connie Cisneros was aware that the couple had children. She said her relationship with Compian was stormy, and she left the Alpine residence in November 2009.

 On Christmas Eve around 5 p.m. , Hernandez said Compian went to see her and his son at  her mother's house in Oxnard to take him shopping for gifts. She said she decided to go with Compian, and they ended up at a fast-food restaurant parking lot, eating and talking about their relationship. Hernandez said she told him that she was ending their relationship.

She testified that Compian told her that she was going to make him do "something stupid"

Late that night as Hernandez, her mother, Compian's son and another child were driving to a relative's house, Hernandez said she spotted a wide-eyed Compian driving fast in Oxnard.  Minutes later, Hernandez got the call from Compian telling that he had shot a "homie."

A short time later, Hernandez said she could hear the sirens of emergency vehicles.

Earlier, Hernandez's mother testified that her daughter was hysterical and was shaking when Compian called and told her that he had shot someone.

Hernandez told jurors about getting more calls from Compian. He told her to delete caller ID information, cell phone recording and tell police that his car was stolen. Also Compian told her to tell police that he had been at a fast-food restaurant with her.

Hernandez said she became fearful of Compian, who wanted to see Hernandez one more time.

"Did he specifically say for the last time?" asked prosecutor Rameen Minoui.

"Yes," she replied.

Under cross examination, Hernandez told about agreeing to cooperate with the Oxnard police investigation, saying officers told her that they could take her son away if she was uncooperative.

Later conversations with Compian were secretly recorded by detectives. Hernandez said Compian said he was on the phone that he innocent and that he didn't do anything.

The trial, which ended late Friday morning,  resumes Monday.  Compian's lawyer Willard Wiksell said his client will testify.

After jurors had gone home for the day, defense attorney Willard Wiksell told the judge that he was objecting to six autopsy photographs that were going to be used by the prosecutor in the murder trial of Alex Compian, saying that they were "extraordinary gruesome"

Wiksell said the District Attorney's Office has a right to present its case. However, he said these photographs would be "unduly prejudicial" if jurors saw them.

Judge Charles Campbell agreed.

But not before prosecutor Rameen Minoui argued that the district attorney has a right to present its case. Minoui said he wanted to show jurors the path of the bullet and where the killer was standing when the shots were fired to corroborate witnesses' testimony.

He argued that this was most "persuasive evidence" to underscore key points in the prosecution's case. Minoui made his arguments as he stood near the bench and while holding up the large photographs so the judge could look at them.

"This is a heinous crime. The crime of murder by way of gunshot,"   Minoui told the judge.

The victim Mario Cisneros, 50, was found shot and lying near the side of his home in the 200 block of Alpine Street in Oxnard about 11:20 p.m. on Dec. 24, 2009, Oxnard police said.

Wiksell said there is no fact in dispute that the victim was killed, and there is no need to have these photographs to prove this point. He said the photographs are "unduly prejudicial"   

Basically, autopsy photographs are used when they are necessary to give details to the jury about how a person was killed, and just because they are enlarged and in color doesn't mean they'll get tossed out of a trial.

The rule of thumb is whether the photographs are more inflammatory than what is needed to show how a killing happened.

A defendant's conviction can be overturn because he was denied  his constitutional right to a fair trial if a judge allows some very gruesome photographs with no probative value to be admitted as evidence.

Although Minoui was told by the judge that he couldn't use these specific six autopsy photographs, he still can use other autopsy photographs during the trial.

 Outside the courtroom, Wiksell said he didn't know the specific number of autopsy photographs that prosecutors have to use in this trial.

"Plenty ," he said.

Restating his basic argument to Judge Campbell as he walked down the hallway: "There is no question. He got shot. He died."

 Compian maintains that he wasn't the gunman.

Closing arguments in the trial of a parolee and alleged leader of the Ventura-based white supremacist gang continue this afternoon in Courtroom 23 at Ventura County Superior Court.

Jeremy McCubbin, 38, is facing life in prison under the three strike law, according to prosecutor John Barrick.

McCubbin is charged with street terrorism and being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.

McCubbin's lawyers Patrick Rossetti and Jesyka maintain that McCubbin did violate his parole but that the shotgun belonged to Eric Nestroyl who was with McCubbin.

Judge Kevin DeNoce is presiding in that trial.

Upstairs in Courtroom 35, opening statements are also set to begin this afternoon in  Courtroom 35 in the murder trial of Alex Compian.

Compian is accused of killing his neighbor who was shot to death on Christmas Eve and found lying near the side of this home in the 200 block of Alpine Street in Oxnard in 2009.

Compian has pleaded not guilty to murder.

Judge Charles Campbell is presiding in that trial. The prosecutor is Rameen Minoui and Compian's lawyer is Willard Wiksell.

Jurors today found one defendant guilty of murder and a co-defendant guilty of assault with a firearm.

The jury, however, deadlocked on all the felony charges involving a third defendant, Corey Lamar Johnson.

The trio -- Brian Bilal Starks, 38, Terrance "Terry" Morrow, 31, and Johnson,34, -- were involved in a drug deal that left Michael Wade dead and Kenneth Pecaro wounded on Nov. 9, 2009.

According to court testimony,  Wade and his friend Darrell Babagay wanted to buy a large quantity of cocaine for more than $55,000, and Pecaro was going to set up the deal with Starks, who knew Pecaro from prison. Starks, in turn, recruited Morrow and Johnson.

Prosecutor Maeve Fox claimed that Starks, of Camarillo, lured Wade and Pecaro to an Oxnard residence on South E. Street in Oxnard to rob them; Defense lawyers countered that Wade and Pecaro had no money and so, there is no robbery.

Jurors found Starks guilty of first-degree murder with great bodily injury; assault with a firearm and possession of a firearm by a felon.

Morrow, of Oxnard, who was also on trial for murder and other felony charges, was found guilty only of assault with a firearm for shooting and wounding Pecaro during a struggle for a gun.,

Jurors deadlocked on the murder and other felony charges against Johnson who was accused of being an aider and abettor during the murder.

The jury foreman told Judge Charles Campbell that the votes were pretty much split 6 to 6 on the remaining charges including conspiracy and robbery.

Johnson's lawyer Willard Wiksell said the jury did a really good job, asking a number of questions during their deliberations.

"They did a very hard job. I cannot fault the jury in anyway," he said. "Mr. Johnson, he got justice."

Wiksell temporarily substituted for Morrow's lawyer Charles Cassy who was unavailable for comment. Stark's lawyer Gay Zide with the Public Defender's Office declined to comment as she left the courtroom.

Jurors couldn't decide the whether the trio was trying to rob Wade, Pecaro and Wade's friend Darrell Babagay. He didn't go to the residence where the drug deal was to take place.

"Our position was that there was not a robbery and the jury did not find that there was a robbery," said Wiksell. "That wasn't resolved, and I don't think it will ever be resolved."

Adding that Johnson was at the South E. Street residence because he was asked to provide a place for a cocaine deal.

Wiksell said his client's role in this incident was "so minor" that it was difficult for anyone to say he committed a crime.

Before the jurors came into the courtroom with their verdicts, Johnson pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and admitted to having two felony strikes against him. He will be sentenced to seven years in prison on that charge.

Ventura County Superior Court Judge Charles Campbell set the sentencing for the three defendants on June 5.

The prosecutor is expected to decide whether the District Attorney's Office will retry the felony charges against Johnson and Morrow that jurors deadlocked on.

"Cody" the police K-9 caused quite a stir when the animal showed up to court with his handler who was testifying in the trial of three men accused of murdering a Northern California man.

During a jury recess break and long after Cody's handler took the stand, defense attorney Willard Wiksell told the judge that bringing a police dog into the courtroom was inappropriate. Wiksell said the animal's presence "inadvertently bolstered the credibility" of Cody's handler's testimony.

"We should be alerted to that when that cute dog walked into the courtroom," Wiksell told the judge, noting that the handler snapped his fingers and the dog sat down.

The two other defense lawyers Charles Cassy and Gay Zide agreed, saying that they should have been alerted by prosecutor Maeve Fox before the dog came into the courtroom so they could make their objections to the judge.

Veteran criminal defense lawyer Cassy said the dog's presence in the courtroom was disruptive. He said he's never had a case where a dog walked into the courtroom in the middle of a trial.

Fox said she was aware that the dog was going to be with its police handler in the courtroom and made no apologies for Cody's courtroom appearance.

Adding that she would not describe Cody as being "cute" but that the animal was impressive and big, full of energy and well trained.  Fox said jurors should have been allowed see the animal.

The judge agreed.

The dog's sniffer was used to find firearms immediately after Michael Wade was mortally wounded and collapsed at an alley in the 1400 block of E Street in  Oxnard.

Three men -- Brian Bilal Starks, 37; Terrance Deshun Morrow, 31; and Corey Lamar Johnson, 34 - are on trial for Wade's murder on Nov. 9, 2009.