Henry Juarez, 30, a parolee, has been charged with the murder

two armed men opened fire on four men they thought were rival gang members on May 27, 2009 but missed their targets. One of the gunmen allegedly stepped in front of his friend and got shot instead.

Javier Gonzalez, 22, of Whittier died at a local hospital.

"That's our theory. That it's essentially friendly fire," said Deputy District Attorney Hector Gutierrez.

Now Gonzalez's friend and his girlfriend await trial for the 10:52 p.m. shooting on Norwalk Boulevard and Bexley Drive, which is in the unincorporated county area known as West Whittier.

Henry Juarez, 30, a parolee, has been charged with the murder of Gonzalez, four counts of attempted murder and one count of possession of a firearm by a felon with prior convictions.

He was also charged with the special allegations that he fired the handgun that caused great bodily injury and death to Gonzalez, intentionally discharged the weapon and personally used a handgun to commit the crime.

A second defendant, Stephanie Reyes, 21, was charged with four counts of attempted murder. Officials said Reyes was living in the Whittier area at the time of the shooting.

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