Jurors set to begin deliberations in murder trial of white supremacist gang member accused of stabbing man to death at a Laguna Niguel bar

The trial of an admitted white supremacist gang member who stabbed a 22-year-old man to death at a Laguna Niguel bar drew toward a close Wednesday, with jurors set to begin deliberating over whether the slaying was an intentional killing born out of anger or an act of self-defense.

The three-week trial of Craig Matthew Tanber, 41, has focused not on whether he stabbed 22-year-old Shayan Mazroei to death outside of Patsy’s Irish Pub over Labor Day Weekend in 2015, but instead on his state of mind at the time of the killing.

The confrontation at Patsy’s began with an argument between Mazroei and Tanber’s then-girlfriend, Elizabeth Thornburg. Senior Deputy District Attorney Mark Birney told jurors during the trial that Thornburg made derogatory comments about Mazroei’s Middle Eastern heritage, while Deputy Public Defender Alisha Montoro alleged that it was Mazroei who acted rudely toward Thornburg after she asked his name to determine how many people were between them on a pool table sign-up sheet.

The argument between Thornburg and Mazroei continued as the two smoked cigarettes outside the bar, while Tanber was using a restroom. Thornburg spit on Mazroei several times, the prosecutor said, while Mazroei responded by spitting on her once. Thornburg then chased Mazroei back into the bar as Tanber exited the restroom, the attorneys said.

A bouncer who knew Mazroei, a regular at the bar, kicked out Tanber and Thornburg. The bouncer and other patrons testified that Tanber ranted and raged outside the bar for more than five minutes, including uttering a series of explicit racial epithets, and made several mentions of having a knife and of being disrespected by Mazroei, who was still inside the bar.

“He was ranting about race, and about hate, and about wanting to stab someone,” Birney said of Tanber.

When the bouncer walked away to help a bartender, Tanber opened a door to the bar, motioned to Mazroei and yelled, “You!”

Surveillance videos from the bar showed Tanber punching Mazroei in the face as he walked out the bar door. Mazroei appeared to temporarily get knocked back, then move back toward Tanber before suddenly staggering back into the bar and collapsing to the ground.

Birney told jurors that after the initial punch, Tanber used a knife he was holding to stab Mazroei directly in the heart, then a second time in the back. Montoro did not dispute the initial punch or stabbing, but said that between the two Mazroei punched Tanber.

The prosecution sought a first-degree murder conviction against Tanber, while the defense argued that evidence doesn’t support a verdict that severe.

Birney, during his closing arguments, told jurors that Tanber killed Mazroei “not because he was afraid, because he was mad.”

“(Mazroei) has been attacked. He has been punched in the face,” the prosecutor said. “(Mazroei) is the one who has a right to self-defense.”

Montoro, during her closing arguments, told jurors that Tanber’s conduct “came from a place of passion” and was not “coolly planned.”

“What happened here was a sloppy mess,” Montoro said.

Other patrons and the bouncer have changed parts of their stories over the years since the killing, the defense attorney noted, including claims about Tanber’s alleged racial comments.

“The evidence doesn’t prove murder,” Montoro said. “It is grossly overcharged.”

Less than three months before killing Mazroei, Tanber had been released from prison after serving time for his role in another slaying.

In 2007, Tanber admitted to helping kill a 26-year-old man who was beaten to death with a claw hammer after stealing money from the former girlfriend of a white supremacist gang murder. His murder trial ended in a mistrial due to juror misconduct, and Tanber pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter.

A 2017 civil trial ended with a jury finding that Patsy’s Irish Pub was not at fault for Mazroei’s death. Tanber was ordered to pay the bulk of a $6 million judgement to Mazroei’s family, though parties to the lawsuit have acknowledged that it is doubtful they will receive a significant amount of money from Tanber.

Tanber’s latest trial was delayed for months until a judge dismissed allegations that a sheriff’s deputy had a questionable relationship with an informant who helped bring Tanber into custody.

Thornburg has been charged with being an accessory after the fact for allegedly driving Tanber away from Patsy’s after the killing. She has denied the charges and is being tried separately.

Jurors in Tanber’s trial are expected to begin their deliberations on Thursday morning.