3 KILLERS RECEIVE LIFE TERM 15 OTHERS CHARGED IN SLAYING BY GANG.Byline: Staff and wire services Three gang members were sentenced Friday to life prison terms for their part in the January 2002 mob murder in Canyon Country of a rival who was stabbed and beaten to death in a misguided retaliatory strike. Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. Superior Court Judge Norman P. Tarle said it was mandatory that he sentence Katherine Mary Henson and John Romero  This article or section is written like a personal reflection or and may require .Please [ improve this article] by rewriting this article or section in an . , both 22, and Randy Franco, 23, to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Henson, Romero and Franco were convicted Aug. 13 of first-degree murder and the special circumstance of lying in wait. Jurors also found that Byron Benito, 19, was killed on Jan. 15, 2002, as a result of gang activity. Still awaiting sentencing on the same charges are Mario Aguillon, 16, and Alfredo Hernandez, 23. Seven other people are awaiting trial for Benito's killing and six others have already pleaded guilty to criminal charges or agreed to testify for the prosecution, said Deputy District Attorney John Colello. The gang members targeted Benito because they believed his gang was responsible for killing their member, Victor Flores Flores, town, Guatemala Flores (flōrəs), town (1990 est. pop. 2,200), capital of Petén department, N Guatemala. Flores was built on an island in the southern part of Lake Petén Itzá and on the site of the , who was found shot to death the previous day in a Canyon Country wash, the prosecutor said. Jacqueline Cuentas, granted immunity from prosecutors for her cooperation, testified that the defendants gathered at her apartment and discussed revenge for Flores' slaying. Benito was lured to an industrial complex on Soledad Canyon Soledad Canyon is a long narrow canyon / valley located in Los Angeles County, California between the cities of Palmdale and Santa Clarita. Soledad Canyon contains the localities of Vincent, Acton, Ravenna, and Agua Dulce. Road, where he was beaten, kicked, punched, hit with a crowbar and stabbed 33 times by the crowd, Colello said. ``They wanted Byron Benito as payback for their homeboy home·boy n. Slang 1. A male friend or acquaintance from one's neighborhood or hometown. 2. A fellow male gang member. homeboy Noun slang 1. being killed. They were the judge, jury and executioner EXECUTIONER. The name given to him who puts criminals to death, according to their sentence; a hangman. 2. In the United States, executions are so rare that there are no executioners by profession. of Byron Benito's involvement in that murder,'' Colello said after the verdicts. He noted that authorities do not believe Benito was involved in Flores' death. Because of the large number of defendants - eighteen - prosecutors broke the case into two trials. Seven defendants await trial. Four already have pleaded guilty, and two are being tried in juvenile court juvenile court Special court handling problems of delinquent, neglected, or abused children. Two types of cases are processed by a juvenile court: civil matters, often concerning care of an abandoned or impoverished child, and criminal matters, arising from antisocial in exchange for their testimony. |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion