Killing in multiple murder case in Fresno was over a ‘stupid’ $20 debt, witness says

A witness to the third slaying in an ongoing Fresno County court case said Thursday the violence was over what amounted to a $20 debt, which she called “stupid.”

The Fresno County Superior Court case of Andrew Levi Hammond entered its ninth day of the jury trial as the Coarsegold 28-year-old faces charges for three separate shootings. His defense attorney has said they were all in self defense.

The most recent killing was of 39-year-old Brandon Munoz, who was shot to death Nov. 2, 2022 inside a vacant house on Anna Avenue near Gettysburg Avenue and Fresno Street, according to investigators.

The Fresno County District Attorney’s Office called to the stand Rebecca Ojeda, who said Munoz was a friend who she had dated briefly but had not seen for about eight years until the night he was killed.

She said on the day of the killing she began getting video calls on FaceTime from someone she identified as “And One” and only learned later it was Hammond, who she did not previously know. Hammond was known to go by And One, according to previous testimony.

Later the same day, she gave Hammond and a woman she described as a friend a ride to a home on Anna Street, where they met with others. She knew one of the men there, who she called “AWOL,” and the group including Hammond walked across the street to the abandoned home where Munoz was later shot.

“I just wasn’t thinking clearly, because if I did I would have thought something isn’t right,” she said.

The group went into the home and began smoking methamphetamine, Ojeda said, though she said she abstained because though she uses meth, she does not smoke it.

A short time after that, Munoz arrived and it wasn’t long before he and Hammond were arguing over $20. She said the argument may have been over accusations that Munoz had stolen something — possibly an air conditioner — from the vacant home.

“I pulled out $20 from my pocket,” she said. “I was going to give him 20 bucks, because I was like, ‘This is stupid.’ “

She said Hammond was moving his arms around while talking and had his hand wrapped in a bandage because he said, according to Ojeda, he had shot himself in the hand.

“He was clearly up too many days on meth,” she said.

Ojeda said she fled the house after the gunfire, saying she saw Hammond with a gun and saw the gunfire before Munoz, who was seated next to her, slumped over.

She gave Hammond a ride to a location about 10 minutes away, saying she was afraid to turn him down, she testified.

She told police on the night of the killing Hammond told her, “he kills snitches and their families.” Ojeda did not repeat that on the stand but rather confirmed it after Senior Deputy District Attorney Kelly Smith read it from a police report.

About two hours after the shooting, she said, she called 911.

Upon questioning by Hammond’s attorney, Richard Beshwate, Ojeda said Munoz was a gang member. She said she did not see Munoz with a gun that night, but her friend who was also there said she did see him with a gun.

The other homicides

The other fatal shootings Hammond had been charged with include Fernando Gonzales, 41, on Sept. 28, 2020, and Steven Rice, 47, on Oct. 21, 2022.

Rice, who some called “Dopey,” had been in a fight with Justin Cox on the day he died.

Cox’s older brother of six years, Ryan Clowers, testified Thursday Cox called him to say he had been beaten. Clowers said he left his house and traveled about three blocks to see his brother, whose face was red and his eye swollen.

Earlier testimony from witnesses said Rice confronted Cox about a stolen shotgun and during the fight attempted to gouge out Cox’s eye.

Clowers said he took Cox to go speak with Rice, and two other men he did not know also got in the car before they drove half a block to where Rice was on Indianapolis and Sherman avenues. He brought a bat, because Cox said Rice had a gun.

“I wanted to make sure, in the grand scheme of things, my brother did not get shot,” Clowers said.

As the brothers walked up the driveway to a home where several people were gathered in a garage, Clowers said, he heard gunfire. During his testimony, he said he did not know who was firing.

He also said he could not identify anyone in the courtroom, which included Hammond.

The case was scheduled to continue on Friday.