Marvin Mercado, whose turf included parts of the San Fernando and San Gabriel valleys, could be sentenced to death.
A former Asian Boyz gang leader was convicted today of eight Los Angeles-area murders in 1995 and 1996, as well as 10 counts of attempted murder.
Marvin Mercado, whose turf included parts of the San Fernando and San Gabriel valleys, could be sentenced to death.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert J. Perry told the seven-woman, five-man jury to return to court on Tuesday for the start of the trial’s penalty phase, in which they will be asked to recommend death or life in prison.
The jury deliberated about a week before reaching its verdicts.
Mercado, 37, was living in the Philippines under an assumed name when he was arrested in 2007 and brought to Los Angeles to face justice.
Mercado was convicted of first-degree murder in the slayings of:
– Armando Estrada and Miguel Limon, two rival Latino gang members who were shot numerous times after being ambushed at an apartment complex on Valerio Street in Van Nuys on April 14, 1995.
– Cheng Peng, Paul Vu and Ben Liao, who were mistaken for members of a Taiwanese-based gang. They were followed by three carloads of Asian Boyz gang members as they left a Peck Road cafe, got on the westbound San Bernardino (10) Freeway and then attacked near the Temple City Boulevard offramp in El Monte on Aug. 1, 1995.
– Oscar Palis, who was killed on Aug. 26, 1995, at Woodman Avenue and Devonshire Street in the Mission Hills area as he and others were heading home from a video arcade.
– John Gregory, who was fatally shot during a Sept. 20, 1995, home- invasion robbery in Reseda.
– Tony Nguyen, who was killed with a shotgun the prosecutor said was fired by one of Mercado’s accomplices.
Jurors also convicted Mercado of 10 counts of attempted murder involving attacks between April 1995 and September 1995, but acquitted him of an 11th count of attempted murder. They deadlocked on a home invasion robbery charge.
Additionally, jurors found that the crimes were gang-related and that Mercado had personally used a firearm in some of the attacks. The panel also found true a special circumstance allegation of multiple murders, which makes Mercado eligible for the death penalty.
Mercado was a fugitive when seven one-time cohorts of the gang’s Van Nuys clique — Buntheon Roeung, Sothi Menh, David Evangelista, Roatha Buth, Son Thanh Bui, Ky Tony Ngo and Kimorn Nuth — were tried, convicted and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in June 1999.
“I told you I would try to show you a man who would try to erase who he is,” Deputy District Attorney Hoon Chun told jurors during his closing argument. “But don’t let him fool you. It may be justice delayed, but it’s still justice.”
The prosecutor said Mercado either had a direct role in the killings or aided his colleagues, including being the driver in the car-to-car shooting in El Monte.
One of Mercado’s attorneys, Donald Calabria, questioned the credibility of four prosecution witnesses who were granted immunity for serious crimes in exchange for their testimony.
“You’re dealing with the kind of people who you can’t take what they say at face value,” Calabria said. “Testimony is only as good as the person giving it.”
Read more: http://www.swrnn.com/southwest-river...#ixzz1EADyq4XJ
Bookmarks