Crime & Safety

VIDEO: Remembering Mark Achilli

Four locals pause Saturday to talk about the late Los Gatos restaurateur on his birthday and give their thoughts on the anniversary of his death, two days later.

Today, March 14, marks the three-year anniversary of the death of killed in 2008 in front of his condo after becoming involved in a dangerous love triangle that authorities say cost him his life.

After he sold to San Jose businessman Paul Garcia, police and prosecutors believe Garcia ordered his killing after becoming enraged when a woman they had both dated chose Achilli over him.

The four men authorities believe were involved in the murder-for-hire killing have all been prosecuted by the law. Three, including shooter Lucio Estrada, middleman and the believed mastermind, Garcia, were convicted of first-degree murder by juries. Estrada has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, but Garcia and Chaidez have not. Garcia's new attorney, Ed Sousa, is reviewing trial documentation to possibly file a motion for a new trial on April 21.

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This weekend in Los Gatos, longtime friend Mike Downing, the bar manager at Carry Nations, said he would be doing a "5 o'clock shot" in honor of the popular Achilli. Others in town, including co-owner, Chris Benson, remembered how his tragic death came two days after his birthday and how they don't believe Garcia deserves a new trial. It's time to put the case behind, he said, and give closure to Achilli's friends and loved ones. 

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