The guy who shot an 18-year-old partygoer in an ambush at a Moreno Valley home and lured him into the street under the guise of battling him was sentenced to life without parole on Friday, Nov. 3.
Massai Cole, age 18, was gunned down in Moreno Valley 18 days before he would have turned 19 years old. (Source: Change.org)
2020 Shooting Incident in Moreno Valley, Suspect Found Guilty
Darren Peter Zesk, 22, was found guilty of shooting Inglewood’s Massai Jevon Cole in 2020 by a Riverside jury in May. Riverside County Superior Court Judge Bernard Schwartz imposed the mandatory term Friday. Deputy District Attorney Kevin Beecham said Zesk “lured” Cole out of the residence at 16512 Century St. to “ambush” him, “fulfilling a promise” he made to his cousin, 21-year-old Jared Lee Zesk, to avenge the party house roughing.
According to testimony, the defendant and his cousin joined scores of others in the area, and as the excitement lasted into the predawn hours of Feb. 2, 2020, Jared Zesk and others had a conflict. According to Beecham, Darren Zesk was furious with his cousin’s treatment and threatened to return and shoot up the party before leaving. He bought firearms for him and his cousin and returned to the house with a waistband-hidden handgun.” Cole followed Zesk to the party house while the defendant loudly shouted, “We’re going to fight,” Beecham told jurors, adding that the defendant used the “N” term.
Defense attorney Darryl Exum said his client was “under intense emotion” when he returned to the party armed and attacked Cole, “he shot from the hip,” not aiming because he wanted to shoot, not kill. Cole died on the scene. After the shooting, the cousins escaped to Riverside. After witnesses identified the Zesks as the offenders, they were apprehended. In June 2022, Jared Zesk was sentenced to 11 years in state prison for voluntary manslaughter.
READ ALSO: 4 Year Old Minnesota Child Found Loaded Gun in a Car, Accidentally Shots Younger Sibling
