A Whittier man told a detective that a Fullerton College student was still alive after he shot her in the head while at Penn Park in Whittier, put her in the bed of his Tacoma and drove her to Moreno Valley where he tried to rape her twice on Aug. 20, 2023.

Gabriel Esparza couldn’t get an erection. He saw a work truck down the road, put 19-year-old Andrea Vazquez of Downey back in his pickup, drove to a field, pulled her out and started dragging her, Whittier police Sgt. Jose Bolanos testified Wednesday, June 4, during the second day of Esparza’s preliminary hearing held in a Los Angeles courtroom.

“She was still talking. Talking, screaming and saying the name ‘Juju’,” Bolanos said.

“Juju” is a nickname for Julian Gonzalez, who was Vazquez’s boyfriend. The couple was hanging out at Penn Park when Esparza spotted them. He drove to two other parks before returning to Penn Park.

Vazquez’s body was found in that Moreno Valley field the night of Aug. 21, 2023. Esparza was with investigators and officers when they went there.

At the hearing Wednesday, Judge George G. Lomeli found there was enough evidence for Esparza to go to trial.

Esparza’s next court date is June 18. He has been charged with murder, attempted murder, kidnapping to commit another crime, kidnapping, assault with intent to rape and two counts of attempted rape by force.

He was also charged with the special circumstance allegations of murder during the course of a kidnapping and murder during the course of an attempted rape as well as the allegation he personally used a rifle while committing the crimes.

“So my client gave you a full confession?,” Esparza’s attorney, Ambrosio Rodriguez, asked Bolanos.

Rodriguez also asked the detective if he had to convince Esparza to take them to the victim’s body or if Esparza volunteered.

Esparza was willing to do so, Bolanos said.

But while Esparza may have revealed what happened on Aug. 20, 2023, the motive behind his actions is still unknown.

“He never said why,” Bolanos said after the hearing.

Vazquez’s family and friends filled the courtroom for the second day. Several of them cried, one gasped as Bolanos recounted what Esparza told him.

At one point, Esparza could be seen shaking. His attorney put a hand on his shoulder.

On Aug. 19, 2023, Esparza told Bolanos he went to work, arrived home around 6 or 7 p.m. then intended to sleep and go to bed. But a few moments later, he put on more clothing, went to an adjacent bedroom where he took a rifle then went out via a bedroom window, Bolanos said.

He used the window in order not to cause the dogs to bark or set off cameras, the sergeant added.

Esparza went to Michigan Park, Penn Park, Parnell Park (all in Whittier), Oak Creek Park in La Mirada then back to Penn Park where he had seen Gonzalez and Vazquez.

He drove past the couple, then went to a residential area where he removed the Tacoma’s rear license plate, Bolanos said.

Gonzalez testified on Tuesday that he and Vazquez were sitting on the trunk of his parked Accord when a white pickup stopped in front of his car.

Esparza picked up the rifle and fired from the window at Vazquez, Bolanos said.

Deputy District Attorney Beth Silverman asked Bolanos if Esparza told him he was aiming for Vazquez’s head.

“Yes,” the sergeant said.

Vazquez fell. Esparza got out of the pickup, advanced on Gonzalez, who began running to the park, Bolanos said.

“He aimed the rifle, raised it and fired it at the male. He then grabbed the female who was crying,” Bolanos said.

Esparza put Vazquez in the truck bed and drove eastbound.

“He said he could hear the female crying from the bed of the truck. He pulled over in a residential area and fired another round,” Bolanos said, adding Esparza stuck the rifle in the tailgate.

He continued driving. In Moreno Valley, Esparza threw the victim’s phone and tried to rape her twice, according to the sergeant.

After leaving Vazquez in a field, Esparza removed his outer clothing and put it in a trash bag, Bolanos said. He headed to a Chevron station and used his Discover card to get gas. He also used wipes on himself.

He pulled over in Hacienda Heights and reattached the rear license plate, went home, placed the rifle back in its camouflage bag and went to sleep, the sergeant said.

Esparza went to work the next two days, he said. The victim’s blood was still in the truck bed and the trash bag containing his clothing and a pair of shoes with blood stains were in the truck.

Gonzalez had described the pickup and the shooter to police. He had also picked Esparza’s photo when police presented him with six photos of men.

Details of how police identified and caught Esparza came out during the hearing.

Whittier police asked Riverside to check their city-wide cameras. The camera recorded the Tacoma going through an intersection.

They also got video from the Chevron station in Moreno Valley where Esparza bought gas. The receipt showed the last four digits of the Discover card and an address, which led detectives to Esparza.

On Aug. 21, 2023, officers served search warrants at his home and at the Pep Boys at 5453 Del Amo Blvd. where he worked. His white Tacoma was at his job as well as his wallet that had the Discover card.

Detective Rudy Perez testified they found three rifles, two handguns and ammunition at the house. Two of the rifles were each stored in a camouflage bag.

“They were in a closet in the guest bedroom. Unlocked and unsecured,” Perez said, adding these two rifles were not loaded and one had a magazine attached.

Testing showed one of the rifles was used to shoot Vazquez, Silverman said.

Esparza’s DNA was on the rifle while Vazquez’s DNA matched to blood stains at the park, where she was found in Moreno Valley and in the Tacoma, she said.

After they found Vazquez’s body, detectives also searched for her cell phone that night but didn’t find it. They later searched again and found her phone.

This was the first time they heard the details of what Vazquez went through, her sister, Edlyn Vazquez, said after the hearing.

“She suffered so much,” Edlyn Vazquez said. “She cried her boyfriend’s name. She was looking for him.”