D.A. FILES MURDER CHARGES AGAINST FIORELLA

San Luis Obispo -- Anthony Fiorella's friends described him as a "pothead"
who "smoked marijuana on a daily basis" and "sold about $200 to $300 worth
of marijuana a month" to supplement his income as a machine technician,
according to Grover Beach police reports filed in county Municipal Court.

Hours after Fiorella allegedly gunned down a 16-year-old boy over a drug
dispute, authorities seized suspected pot and an assortment of
paraphernalia from Fiorella's bedroom, according to a search warrant report
filed in court.

Among the items seized: 10 pipes, six bongs, two scales, three shopping
bags and four baggies containing suspected marijuana. Authorities also
seized 39 Polaroid photos of marijuana plants and other drug-related
images, as well as a list of 27 names and phone numbers -- mostly pager
numbers, according to reports.

While some friends described Fiorella as passive, others recalled
uncharacteristic displays of violence in recent weeks, suggesting Fiorella
was losing control, reports show. Fiorella's mother, Betsy Leo, told the
Telegram-Tribune she believed her son "snapped" over recent home robberies
and personal problems that came on the heels of his younger brother's
arrest for murder in 1996.

Joseph Fiorella, now 17, is serving 26 years to life for the ritualistic
slaying of 15-year-old Elyse Pahler near her former Nipomo Mesa home.

Among the items seized during a Jan. 9 search of Anthony Fiorella's Lyn
Road residence were two envelopes containing letters Joseph Fiorella had
written to his brother from prison. Authorities also seized a note Anthony
Fiorella had written to his mother after the shooting, stating he had her
car and was heading to San Francisco.

On Thursday, the District Attorney's Office filed murder charges against
Anthony Fiorella, who remained at large late Friday.

Charges of murder and felony discharging of a firearm were filed on
Fiorella's 20th birthday -- a week to the day after he allegedly fired a
sawed-off shotgun point blank at 16-year-old Garrett Hunter outside a
Grover Beach restaurant.

Fiorella reportedly went after Hunter and his older brother Grant because
the two tricked him into delivering a half-ounce of marijuana they had no
intention of paying for, police reports state.

The Hunter brothers reportedly paged Fiorella the night before the Jan. 8
shooting to meet in Arroyo Grande for a drug deal, according to reports.
The Hunter brothers and a friend were waiting in a green Mitsubishi at the
park on Traffic Way when Fiorella pulled up around 12:30 a.m. in his white
Volkswagen bug.

The Hunters reportedly claimed they had purchased pot from Fiorella in the
past, but this time they planned to steal it from him, reports state.

Grant Hunter got out of the Mitsubishi and spoke briefly with Fiorella
before Fiorella reportedly handed over a bag of pot. Grant Hunter then
handed the bag to his younger brother, seated in the back seat of the car.

Fiorella asked for his money before Garrett Hunter allegedly told the
driver to take off, reports show. Asked why the Hunters decided to "rip
off" Fiorella, one witness told an investigator: "I don't know. He was
easy, I guess."

Fiorella was becoming increasingly angry in recent weeks, particularly
after he told friends someone stole marijuana plants he had grown at his
rural Arroyo Grande mobile home. Fiorella also said he'd been robbed
several times of stereo equipment and other property.

In November he showed up to his ex-girlfriend's house and accused her of
telling people where he lived so they could rob him, reports show. Fiorella
reportedly told her he had a gun with him, and that he "was so upset about
being ripped off that he thought about coming over to shoot her," reports
show.

Police interviewed Fiorella's father, who said he doesn't have a close
relationship with his son, according to District Attorney's reports. Joseph
Fiorella, who lives in New York, told an investigator he hadn't heard from
his son since he sent him $25 for a Christmas present.

Fiorella added he did not believe his son would surrender to police. "I
asked him to explain this comment, and Mr. Fiorella stated that, since the
arrest and subsequent conviction of Anthony's brother, Joe Fiorella, he
(Mr. Fiorella) has had conversations with Anthony, wherein he was told by
Anthony that if he were faced with the same circumstances (wanted by law
enforcement), that he would flee the area and possibly the country."

Garrett Hunter was shot outside Boston Market moments after his brother ran
in to the restaurant to call 911. Grant Hunter told police he worked at the
restaurant and was on a break around 8 p.m. when Fiorella pulled up in his
mother's blue Ford Tempo.

He said he and his brother were smoking cigarettes near a pay phone when
Fiorella got out of the car and pulled a shotgun out from the front seat.
Grant Hunter said he ran to get back inside and shouted to his brother :
"Get in the restaurant! Get in the restaurant!"

Grant Hunter said when he got inside he asked the manager to call police.
He then heard a shot and heard his brother scream.

Grant Hunter was holding his brother when police arrived. Hunter's
responses to police questions were followed by words of encouragement to
his dying brother, according to a transcript of the taped interview.

"C'mon fool, don't die," Grant Hunter urged, to which Garrett Hunter
replied: "I don't want to die."

Garrett Hunter told police that before Fiorella shot him, Fiorella ordered
him to hand over his wallet "or he was gonna kill me," reports state.

At 12:35 a.m. that Friday morning, the Hunter family was advised by the
attending physician there was nothing more they could do to stop Garrett's
bleeding.

"Arrangements were made for the family to come to his bedside before he
died," police reports state. "At 1:10 a.m., Garrett Hunter was pronounced
dead."

) San Luis Obispo County Telegram-Tribune