Judge orders trial for 3 Oakland men in ‘heinous’ shooting of LA gym influencer

A Los Angeles County judge ruled last week that three Oakland men will stand trial in connection with a 2024 attempted robbery and deadly shooting of a Los Angeles fitness influencer.

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Mahki Taylor, Daymonee Johnson and Jason Melara are accused of carrying out the violent attempted robbery on Sept. 13, 2024, that injured and eventually killed Miguel Aguilar, the owner of the Self Made Training Facility gym chain with nearly 25,000 followers on Instagram. 

During a July 7 court hearing, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Curtis Rappe ruled that there was enough evidence to move forward with a trial, and all three men are facing robbery, assault and murder charges, according to the Los Angeles Times. Prosecutors said the group allegedly drove from Oakland to Los Angeles specifically to carry out robberies, the Times reported. 

Andrew Stein, an attorney for Jason Melara, previously asked the judge to dismiss Melara’s murder charges because there allegedly was no evidence that he pointed a gun at Aguilar, the LA Times reported. Still, the Los Angeles judge believes there is enough evidence to move the three men to trial. A trial date for any of the suspects does not appear to be scheduled yet, court records show. 

On the day of the attempted robbery, Aguilar was eating lunch with his wife at Bossa Nova, a Brazilian restaurant on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood, according to the LA Times. The group of suspects, which consisted of the three men, now each 20, plus Jason’s brother, Mario Melara, allegedly followed Aguilar’s car to his Bel-Air home, the Times reported. 

The group allegedly confronted the couple in the driveaway, “demanding property” from them, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said in an Oct. 18, 2024, news release. During the confrontation, one of the men allegedly shot Aguilar in the head, leaving him in critical condition. 

Frank Flores, a detective with LAPD, testified in the recent court hearing that Aguilar, who had a permit to carry a gun, fired a single shot, the LA Times reported. Aguilar’s wife told Flores that she wasn’t sure who shot first, but one of the suspects also fired a shot before fleeing the area, according to Flores’ testimony. 

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Aguilar was transported to the intensive care unit, according to an Instagram post from his business. Aguilar died three months later on Dec. 21, 2024, his gym said in an Instagram post. 

The suspects allegedly ran to a getaway car and drove away, but Mario Melara was critically injured and later died at a local hospital, the Los Angeles Police Department said in an Oct. 18, 2024, news release. According to the LA Times, Aguilar allegedly shot Melara.

The three surviving men were arrested in Northern California on Oct. 10, 2024, LAPD said in the news release later that month. If convicted, the suspects could face up to life in prison, the DA’s office said in its October 2024 news release.

In the statement, District Attorney George Gascon described the shooting as “heinous” and a “brazen attack.” The DA’s office and LAPD did not respond to SFGATE’s request for additional information.