Written by A Stanton gang member was convicted of second-degree murder Thursday for running over a gang rival with a stolen SUV.
Ruben Nicholas Roa, 24, faces 27 years to life in state prison at his sentencing next Friday by Superior Court Judge M. Marc Kelly.
Deputy District Attorney Dave Porter argued that Roa and two accomplices had been up all night on Nov. 2, 2006, on a methamphetamine binge when they spotted rival Rito Guajardo riding a bicycle in an alley at about 8:30 a.m.
Roa, who was driving a stolen Mercury Mountaineer, intentionally aimed at Guajardo on a first run through the alley but missed, according to Porter.
On a second pass, the SUV slammed into the bicycle at high speed without braking, according to testimony.
Guajardo, 44, was first knocked onto the hood of the vehicle, and then he was pinched between a chain-link fence and the SUV before he fell to the pavement and was run over by the SUV’s rear wheel. He died about 12 hours later from massive internal injuries.
Investigators initially thought it may have been a random case of vehicular manslaughter, but their probe focused on gang activity when they learned that Guajardo was a gang member who had tangled in the past with Roa, who belonged to a rival gang.
The two accomplices, who were passengers in the SUV, pleaded guilty before the trial to lesser charges.
Afton Ann Reagan, 27, pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter with gang enhancements and was sentenced to 11 years in prison.
Edgar Omar Hernandez, 23, pleaded guilty to assault with a deadly weapon plus gang enhancements and was sentenced to five years, four months in prison.
Roa has already been sentenced to 29 years in prison on two counts of assault with a deadly weapon in a separate case.
