Trial begins for man suspected of murder, theft

Thirty-year-old Aurelio Fidencio Saldivar of Costa Mesa is set to begin trial Jan. 12 for allegedly helping to kill a blind man while stealing his car in Orange, prosecutors said Monday.

Saldivar was one of three men identified as gang members who stole fellow gang member Raffi Yessayan’s black Nissan sedan, according to prosecutors.

Yessayan was in the car being driven by Ruben Oliveros, 27, of Santa Ana, when the victim got into an argument with Oliveros on June 6, 2006, officials said. Oliveros pulled over and shot Yessayan in the head, then Saldivar took the gun and shot the victim in the head, prosecutors said. Saldivar, Oliveros and Marco Antonio Charcas-Fernandez, 23, of Santa Ana, face life in prison if convicted.

— Alan Blank