THURSDAY, MARCH 26th, 2009
Brian Caufield is known by a few professional monikers, including DJ Spell and Chasm. On this Thursday evening phone call he’s known as Son. He discusses his plans to move to Studio City soon, not far from the Sherman Oaks apartment he currently shares with one roommate.
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| Brian Caufield via Facebook |
Their conversation is interrupted, according to Kathy, when Brian screams. She hears him question his assailants. They identify themselves as police officers. She hears gunshots. And then she hears the silence in a room over 1,000 miles away.
She tries calling everyone she can think of, to no avail. Finally, at 4am the next morning, she finds an officer who confirms her fear: Brian is dead.
Caufield’s roommate, Eric Gonzalez, was home at the time of the shooting. Police found him elsewhere in the apartment complex, handcuffed.
Three men were caught on surveillance camera. There was also a woman who was visiting somebody else in the apartment complex and happened to arrive at the same time as the men and was also outside later when they hurried into a car and sped away.
Authorities believed that it was meant to be a home invasion robbery. There were reports that marijuana was sold out of the apartment.
One man was arrested after two weeks. During that trial in 2010, Gonzalez testified that three men showed up and once inside, one of them identified as an officer and put him in handcuffs while the others went into Brian’s room. After the gunshots they all fled.
Gonzalez’s testimony was attacked at the time as inconsistent. That 2010 trial ended in a not guilty verdict across the board.
The two other suspects, Daryl Sconiers Jr. and Kenyon Aikens were arrested separately in early and late 2011 in other parts of the country. After extradition, they finally went to a jury trial in 2014 and this past Tuesday, January 29th, both men were found guilty of first-degree murder, among other charges. Sentencing is scheduled for March, which will mark five years since the shooting.
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| Daryl Sconiers Jr. via Sherman Oaks Patch |
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| Kenyon Aikens via Phoenix New Times |
