Antioch Man Gets 176 Years to Life for Murder of Chualar Teen
SALINAS — 35-year-old Marques Adrian Gaines is set to serve 176 years to life in state prison, after a Monterey County jury has convicted an Antioch man of the premeditated murder of 18-year-old Gabriel Rodriguez and the attempted murder of 20-year-old Rafael Vasquez.
The incident took place in June of 2014 when, shortly before midnight, both Vasquez and Rodriguez were test-firing a gun in an open field behind Vasquez’s home in Chualar. When finished, the two began walking home. Gaines then fired at them from the back porch of a neighbor’s home.
During the hearing, evidence revealed that Gaines had been upset with Vasquez for not helping him retaliate against a mutual acquaintance who had assaulted Gaines during a drug deal in Chinatown.
Gaines also made death threats to Vasquez and his friends, specifically mentioning the Magnum Research Baby Desert Eagle he had purchased and later used in the shooting. Gaines hid the firearm in a toilet tank and convinced his ex-girlfriend to drive him and their baby back to Antioch.
Once they reached Antioch, Gaines told her to lie about where he’d been that night.
