GUILTY CA - Janessa Ramirez, 9, killed by stray bullet, Fresno, 18 Jan 2015

A gang member suspected of killing Janessa Ramirez admitted to firing a gun that police believe killed the 9-year-old girl outside a Fresno laundromat a year ago, a police detective testified Friday in Fresno County Superior Court.

Police say Janessa was killed by a stray bullet fired during a gunfight between two rival gang members on Marks Avenue north of Clinton Avenue during the evening hours of Jan. 18, 2015.

Prosecutor William Terrence contends Brian Cooks, 23, committed murder because he fired a gun in the gunfight that ended up killing Janessa.

Defense attorney Curtis Sok, however, says Cooks is not guilty of murder because he fired his gun at a drive-by shooter in self-defense.

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A Fresno gang member will stand trial on a charge of murder in connection with the killing of 9-year-old Janessa Ramirez, who was mortally wounded a year ago by a stray bullet from a gang gunfight, a judge ruled Monday in Fresno County Superior Court.

Judge Arlan Harrell made his decision after an unusually long preliminary hearing that lasted three days and in which Fresno police detectives testified that 23-year-old Brian Cooks instigated the gunfight to settle a score with a rival.

Though Cooks has admitted to firing a gun that police believed killed Janessa, he and his lawyer, Curtis Sok, contend he fired in self-defense toward a drive-by shooter.

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It has been one year since a tragedy on the streets of northwest Fresno shook communities across the Valley. 9-year-old Janessa Ramirez was killed when a stray bullet fired during a gunfight on Marks Avenue north of Clinton Avenue struck her on January 18th of last year... Buttons, T-Shirts, and balloons by the handful were brought to St. Peter's Cemetery Monday. All to honor Janessa Ramirez, a nine-year-old girl killed exactly a year ago, hit by a stray bullet during a gang shootout in northwest Fresno. The loss motivates an entire community to pray...

If convicted Brian Cooks faces life in prison. Cooks is expected back in court on January 26th

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Brian Lorisse Cooks, 25, of Fresno, accepted a plea deal and will be sentenced to serve 21 years in the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation at his sentencing hearing March 5.

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Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer calls it a tragedy that pulled at the heart strings of the community.

"Here's a young nine-year-old girl who had the rest of her life in front of her," said Dyer.

But the life of Janessa Ramirez ended in the arms of her mother, killed by a stray bullet in January 2015. Prosecutors say Brian Cooks opened fire in a gun fight with a rival gang member, hitting Ramirez from 300 yards away.

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Justice for Janessa Ramirez was finally served on Monday. In court, 25-year old gang member, Brian Cooks, was sentenced to 21 years in prison for the 2015 shooting death of 9-year old Janessa. The young girl was hit by a stray bullet in front of a laundromat in Fresno. She died in her mother's arms.

The family of Janessa has been waiting for this day for years. And while the sentencing could have turned tense between the victim's family and the shooter's family, there was a lot of grace and forgiveness.

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"She was my best friend," Janessa's mother, Stacey Gonzales, told the judge.

She said she hopes Cooks remembers Janessa every day. “I hope you see her face every time you open your eyes,” Gonzales said.

In response, Cooks said “please accept my apology” to Gonzales and her family. “I sympathize with the pain I brought to the family of Janessa Ramirez as well as the pain I brought to my own family.”

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