Alleged gang member pleads not guilty in Pomona youth pastor’s killing

A suspected gang member pleaded not guilty Tuesday to gunning down a youth pastor in Pomona two years ago.

Arvin Benson, 27, is charged with murder and possession of a firearm by a felon, the latter charge stemming from a 2009 conviction for selling cocaine base, prosecutors said.

Pomona police say that on Nov. 11, 2013, Benson killed Daniel Anthony Diaz amid violence between black and Latino gang members simply because Diaz was Latino. Benson is black.

About 12:45 a.m., a man walked up to a car that Diaz and three other people were in, according to the Pomona Police Department. The people in the car had just dropped off a friend when the man started shooting, police said.

Diaz was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead, according to coroner’s records.

Diaz was a beloved youth minister at New Beginnings Community Church in Baldwin Park. His parents founded the church, and his sister worked there.

“My son was an incredible young man, and he helped a lot of people,” the youth pastor’s father, Daniel Diaz, said.

The killing came one day after hundreds of people gathered in the football stands of Ganesha High School in Pomona to pray for an end to violence in the city.

Friends and family members said Diaz was also working for change, mentoring at-risk youth.

“He thought it was very important to reach out to them. Those are the ones you have to reach first, to get them at a young age,” said Lynna Moreno, a member of the New Beginnings congregation. “He knew how to talk to them. Youths were drawn to him. Even though they were a little rebellious, sooner or later it sunk in to them.”

Boys he mentored were distraught over the killing, calling him a big brother figure.

Benson faces 50 years to life in prison if convicted. He is due back in court Jan. 13.

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