Bay Area Teens Charged With Murder In Robbery Of Fitness Influencer

LOS ANGELES, CA — Three Oakland teens have been charged with murder and other counts in the botched follow-home robbery of a fitness influencer and his wife in Bel-Air, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced Friday.

Fitness influencer Miguel Aguilar, the founder of a Temecula-based gym chain, remains in critical condition after being shot in the head by a burglar during the Sept. 13 robbery. According to police, four armed men approached Aguilar and his wife in their driveway, but shots were fired and one of the robbers died, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

Jason Melara, Daymonee Johnson and Mahki Taylor, all 19, were set to be arraigned Friday afternoon in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom on one count each of murder, second-degree robbery and shooting at an occupied motor vehicle, along with two counts each of attempted second-degree robbery and assault with a semiautomatic firearm.

Taylor is also facing an additional count of attempted murder.

All three are also facing allegations that they personally used a handgun, with Taylor facing an additional allegation that he personally inflicted great bodily injury, according to the criminal complaint.

The most serious charges stem from the follow-home attempted robbery Sept. 13 in the 11400 block of North Thurston Circle, near Sunset Boulevard and the San Diego (405) Freeway. Multiple armed suspects demanded property from Aguilar, reportedly going after his high-end watch.

One of the robbers shot Aguilar in the head before fleeing the scene with the other suspects in an awaiting vehicle, authorities said.

Aguilar is the owner and founder of Self Made Training Facility, a franchise with more than 25 locations, and he has more than 50,000 Instagram followers, FOX 11 reported.

Police said one of the suspects, Mario Melara, was severely injured during the robbery and shooting and later died at a hospital. It was unclear if Melara, who was identified as Jason Melara’s brother, sustained injuries from the victim or from one of the other suspects.

The second-degree robbery charge and one of the assault charges against the three defendants stem from a Sept. 12 hold-up of an alleged victim identified only as “John Doe #1,” in the complaint.

Investigators eventually located Jason Melara, Johnson and Taylor in Northern California, where they were arrested.

They have remained behind bars since then, jail records show.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.