Suspect describes shooting pot dealer dead in Santa Rosa hotel room

A Sacramento man testified Tuesday he shot a Marin County man to death in a Santa Rosa hotel after the man pulled a gun on him during a marijuana deal.

David Espinal, 47, took the stand in his ongoing trial. He and co-defendant Donald Parker, 36, of Vallejo are charged with murdering Max Weinreb, 21, during what prosecutors have characterized as a robbery.

Espinal, an ex-convict who served time for a Merced County robbery, said he went to the Vagabond Inn on Cleveland Avenue on Aug. 31 to buy 10 pounds of pot from Weinreb.

But when Espinal tried to pay, he said Weinreb pulled a holstered gun from a pocket. As the younger man struggled to free it from the holster, Espinal said he pulled his own gun from behind his back and shot Weinreb three times.

“That’s what saved my life,” said Espinal, standing up in court and demonstrating his movements for jurors. “A little hesitation like that.”

Detectives found a .22 caliber pistol under Weinreb’s body.

Espinal continued to testify that he and Parker fled the hotel with the weed, parking their car in a field near Santa Rosa before heading back to Vallejo later that night.

The next morning, Espinal said he wiped his fingerprints from the .357 Magnum before tossing it somewhere in the San Francisco Bay. He said he shipped most of the pot to out-of-state customers who never paid him.

Police arrested both men within weeks. Parker had checked into the hotel using his real name and surveillance cameras spotted them coming and going from the area.

Prosecutor Barbara Nanney suggested they planned to rob Weinreb all along. She cross-examined Espinal about the source of $10,000 he said he brought to the hotel. The money, all in $100 bills, was rolled in a wad and stashed in his jock strap, he testified.

He said his sister gave it to him when he was released from prison a few months earlier.

Also, Nanney questioned Espinal about duct tape found in the room that she said could have been used to bind Weinreb.

Espinal repeatedly denied any nefarious plans. He said he bought and sold weed to support his family and was retrieving the money from the front of his pants when Weinreb made his move.

“I was intending to pay for it,” Espinal said. “He didn’t give me a chance. He pulled a gun in the middle of a drug deal.”

Jurors were expected to hear closing arguments Wednesday.

You can reach Staff Writer Paul Payne at 568-5312 or paul.payne@pressdemocrat.com.?On Twitter @ppayne.