Daunte Mercado Bates was a Pechanga Tribal member, who in March 2006 was disenrolled by the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians. Sadly, he was murdered in November 2006. Pechanga destroyed his heritage and slandered his ancestry, then these killers destroyed his life.
Here is a story on the trial of his murderers:
A Murrieta teenager inflicted wounds on a murder defendant's chest before he was gunned down, not a kick, a prosecutor suggested Thursday.
Defendant Franko Daniel Bernal repeatedly testified that the three small lines on his chest were probably the result of being kicked by co-defendant Samuel Thomas McCauley during a fight they had about a day after Murrieta resident Daunte Mercado-Bates was killed.
"Those marks are from Daunte Mercado-Bates," prosecutor James Romo said as he questioned Bernal.
"No," Bernal, a former Murrieta resident, testified during his trial in El Cajon.
Bernal, 22, of El Cajon, and McCauley, 24, of La Mesa, could face the death penalty if convicted of two murder charges in connection with the November 2006 deaths of Mercado-Bates, 18, and a convenience store clerk in Lemon Grove.
Read the rest of the article HERE
We miss you little brother.
ReplyDeleteYes, and I miss the conversations Daunte and I had.
ReplyDeleteHe was a bright intelligent young man wiped out by these maniacs for no reason whatsoever.
Rest in peace Daunte.
Daunte would have been 21yrs old Feb. 1st.
ReplyDeleteWe miss your beautiful smile!!