RIVERSIDE — A gang member who fatally shot a 20-year-old Rialto man during a car-to-car exchange of gunfire that followed a chase stemming from the defendant’s aggressive acts to promote his gang was bound for state prison Monday to serve life behind bars. Steven Daniel Carrillo, 24, of Riverside was convicted in May of first- degree murder for killing Derrion Thomas in 2020. Along with the murder count, jurors found Carrillo guilty of attempted murder, special circumstance allegations of killing for the benefit of a criminal street gang and perpetrating a hate crime, as well as sentence- enhancing gun and great bodily injury allegations. He was acquitted of a related attempted murder charge. During a sentencing hearing at the Riverside Hall of Justice Friday, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Jerry Yang imposed a term of life in prison without the possibility of parole. Carrillo is a documented member of the Eastside Riva, Riverside’s oldest street gang and prevalent in the area along the University Avenue corridor. In late October 2020, he was staying with fellow gang members in a room at the Motel 6 near the intersection of Iowa and University avenues, according to briefs filed by the District Attorney’s Office and the defense. Staying in a room nearby were Sharon Mayweather, Isaiah Smith and Thomas, all related. On Oct. 24, Mayweather was released from the downtown Riverside jail, where she had been held for unspecified reasons, and she became intoxicated at the motel, according to court papers. “She was hanging around Mr. Carrillo’s (black Jaguar) in the parking lot, and he told her to get away from his vehicle,” according to the defense. There was a hostile exchange before she returned to her room. Two days later, on the night of Oct. 26, Thomas and Smith were preparing to drive in the latter’s Saturn sedan to pick up food, and Mayweather was trailing behind when she encountered Carrillo in his car, leading to another confrontation, during which she told Smith and Thomas the defendant had threatened her. They doubted her claims and “ushered” her into the car, the defense said. Prosecutors said the defendant was incensed, possibly because he had been publicly challenged by a woman in front of three juvenile gang members. He pursued them eastbound on University. Court papers state the victims tried to avoid further contact, racing through traffic lights until they reached the left turn lane to go into the Food4Less grocery store parking lot at University and Chicago avenues. Carrillo pulled alongside and shouted profanity-laced challenges, at which point Thomas pulled a semiautomatic handgun and “fired up to 11 rounds at Mr. Carrillo,” the defense said. The Jaguar’s driver’s side window was blown out, but Carrillo and those with him were not hit. Smith tried to pull his own pistol out of his front pocket, but the trigger caught on his pants, and he shot himself in the right thigh, according to court documents. Carrillo pulled his own 9mm pistol and fired into the Saturn, striking Thomas twice, including a fatal wound to the chest, according to the prosecution. Smith tried to flee when the shots were fired but crashed into a traffic sign. He stumbled out of the car and hobbled away to get help. Mayweather was not injured. Thomas stepped out of the car and collapsed. Carrillo fled the scene. Thomas was taken to Riverside Community Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. Smith underwent surgery to his leg and recovered. Relying on security surveillance video from the motel and businesses along University, Riverside police detectives were able to identify the perpetrator, and an arrest warrant was served on him without incident two weeks later at a residence in the 2300 block of Candlestick Way in Perris. Investigators seized his journal, in which he “bragged about the shooting,” according to the prosecution’s brief, which said he referred to the victims as “snails” and wrote that “there is a sort of war with Eastside Riva and the Blacks.” “The defendant noted he was proud he was able to show the little homies how to gang bang,” the brief said. The defense blamed Mayweather for “provoking the altercation,” additionally asserting Carrillo was not the one who initiated violence that night. “He explained (to detectives) that Thomas shot first, and he was only defending himself,” the defense stated. Carrillo had no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County. Related Articles Crime and Public Safety | Man sentenced to 83 years to life in prison for fatal drug-related shooting in Hemet Crime and Public Safety | Man convicted in 2020 gang killing of ex-affiliate in Home Gardens Crime and Public Safety | Arrest made in 2020 Moreno Valley killing of 21-year-old Crime and Public Safety | Moreno Valley man arrested after fatal shooting in Perris gym parking lot Crime and Public Safety | Jury sets damages at $40 million in death of Long Beach pedestrian struck by CHP officer