Disturbing footage of Clovis nightclub shooting opens double murder trial of Fresno man

A 26-year-old man accused of a Clovis nightclub shooting that killed two people told detectives he didn’t remember much about that night, but knew he had done “something wrong.”

Those details from a recorded interview were among the items of evidence presented to jurors Wednesday during the first day of trial for Eddie Cordero.

Cordero faces a maximum of life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty if convicted of the May 22, 2021 murders of Merehildo Luna, 21, of Fresno, and Andres Sanchez 27, of Sanger at the Palace Nightclub in Old Town Clovis.

He is charged with two counts of murder and one count of assault with a firearm.

The club’s DJ Robert Rubio Jr. was shot, but survived.

On Wednesday jurors were painted a picture of the circumstances that allegedly led up to the deadly shooting. They also learned details about how the defendant allegedly went on the run to Arizona after the shooting.

According to the recordings played in court, Cordero told Clovis police detectives he was drinking and taking drugs that night. At first, he claimed to remember very little about the deaths of Luna and Sanchez.

After a little prodding by detectives Kedric Anderson and Joe Alvarado, he admitted to fleeing to Arizona because he was scared he had done something terrible. Later on in the hour-long interview, Cordero told the detectives he didn’t want to “kill a whole bunch of people.”

He also revealed that he was angry that night because Luna, who is one of the victims, had gotten in his face and said something he did not appreciate. “He kept telling us to go to the back,” Cordero said during his interview with police. “I seen stuff like that before where it’s like a threat.”

Jurors on Wednesday also heard testimony from Angel Mejia, the designated driver who prosecutors believe drove Cordero home, while also advising him to forget about the incident at the club.

Mejia testified he, Cordero and his friends Carlos Hernandez and Santiago Garcia, left the club at about 1 a.m. “I told (Cordero) to ‘stay home and just calm down,’” Mejia testified. “He was furious.”

Mejia told jurors he heard the sound of Cordero racking a handgun just before he dropped him off.

Defense attorney Jonathan Richter doubted that was the case. Under questioning by Richter, Mejia testified he had very little knowledge about firearms.

Defendant allegedly went back to the club

But the prosecution believes Cordero didn’t stay home after being dropped off by Mejia.

Elana Smith, the senior deputy district attorney who is prosecuting the case, said during her opening statement that Cordero wanted revenge because of the verbal altercation with Luna.

The prosecution alleges Cordero’s roommate Anthony Guzman agreed to go back with him to the Palace. Cordero allegedly returned to the nightclub, armed with a 9mm handgun.

Some of the strongest evidence presented by Smith was surveillance video captured on the club’s cameras.

In one video clip, jurors were shown footage of Cordero and Guzman approaching the front of the Palace, with a gun clearly shown in Cordero’s waistband. Seconds later, Cordero is shown taking a few steps inside the club’s front door, pulling out the gun and firing, striking Luna and Sanchez.

In the video footage, Luna can be seen jumping over a chair as he tries to escape the chaos. Sanchez fell closest to the front door. The video shows Sanchez laying on his back, struggling to stay alive.

Anderson, the lead detective on the case, told jurors that Sanchez was taken to a hospital where he later died. Luna died on the floor of the night club.

Rubio was shot in the leg and taken to the hospital. He has recovered from his injuries, but the memory of that night still haunts him, he testified.

In one of the surveillance videos, Rubio can be seen hobbling on one leg as he escapes out of the back door.

Rubio testified he had to step over one of the shooting victims. “Was that person injured,” Smith asked?

“Yes,” Rubio replied, as he became emotional.

Guzman was charged with two counts of murder and one count of assault with a firearm. He pleaded no contest to the charges and was sentenced in March to three years in the Fresno County Jail.

The trial continues Thursday.