Recently in Carson Category

Staff Writer Sandy Mazza reported for Saturday's Daily Breeze that the District Attorney's Office is investigating if the Carson City Council violated open meeting laws by allowing Mayor Jim Dear to mute speakers ... speakers, who, coincidentally, are critical of him or the Council. Read the article here.

More from Staff Writer Art Marroquin:

A 19-year-old man was wounded early today when a teenager shot him during an attempted robbery in Carson, authorities said.

The teenage would-be robber pulled out a gun when the pair got into a struggle near the intersection of Prospect Avenue and Adams Street around 2:45 a.m., said Sgt. Sean Hinkey of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

The gunman shot the victim once in the thigh, then fled, Hinkey said. The victim's mother took him to a hospital, where he was interviewed by deputies.

In deciding if someone should live or die, a jury learns a lot about the person whose fate rests in their hands. During the death penalty trial for Miguel Magallon, the prosecutor introduced them to a book that was found in Magallon's jail cell, which he ordered from Amazon.com.

The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene, whose jacket bills itself as a good read for anyone "interested in gaining, observing, or defending against ultimate control," uses historical figures and references to break down the nearly 50 ways to avoid being victimized by power.

Magallon made stars next to certain laws, and underlined passages in his copy. Deputy District Attorney Darren Levine encouraged the jury, which began deliberating today, to flip through the book, note what caught the killer's attention and see how the law that interested Magallon manifested itself in his actions and behavior in the five years since he gunned down off-duty Los Angeles County police Capt. Michael Sparkes.

From the book's table of contents:

Law 3-

Conceal your Intentions

Keep people off-balance and in the dark by never revealing the purpose behind your actions.  If they have no clue what you are up to, they cannot prepare a defense.  Guide them far enough down the wrong path, envelope them in enough smoke, and by the time they realize your intentions, it will be too late.

The law is pretty clear on what the difference is between first and second-degree murder. Well, clear to legal scholars, anyway. But even then, how that law is interpreted and applied to a set of facts is quite a subjective process. Getting 12 jurors to agree during that process can often be the backbone of a murder trial.

In closing arguments Tuesday in the capital murder trial for Miguel Magallon, Deputy District Attorney Darren Levine gave one of the clearest analogies I've ever heard in explaining the difference. Everyday, he said, when he leaves his office at the Civic Center, he must decide whether to walk a half-block up to the crosswalk, then a half-block back ... or merely hustle across several lanes of traffic. Complicating the decision is that police cars often park at a nearby Metro station.

Levine said when he pauses, looks toward the police cars to see if any cops are around, then proceeds across - he is guilty of first-degree jaywalking. It was willful, deliberate and premeditated. But when he simply just heads across without a thought to the consequences - even for a brief millisecond - that is second-degree jaywalking.

While Magallon's defense attorney, Victor Salerno, said the slaying of Los Angeles Police Capt. Michael Sparkes on Aug. 10, 2004, was a "classic case" of second-degree murder, Levine used the same term to argue that the deadly confrontation on the street near Carson was first-degree murder. In the end, it's up to the jury.

Opening statements are underway in a downtown courtroom in the murder trial against Miguel Magallon, who is accused of killing Los Angeles Police Captain Michael Sparkes on a street corner near Gardena in 2004.

So far, Deputy District Attorney Darren Levine has laid out his case against Magallon, who is facing the death penalty. Magallon turned 26 today.

Before the jury was brought in, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Kathleen Kennedy said she had some security concerns. Magallon, it seems, is not behaving himself in jail. Over the weekend, he slashed a jailer who was attempting to save another inmate from being killed by Magallon and another inmate. The deputy was slashed on the hand with some kind of razor that was flushed down the toilet before the cell could be searched. Magallon will spend the trial with one leg shackled, over his attorney's objections - who said Magallon has had no problems during the three weeks it took to pick a jury.

"The defendant hasn't attacked anybody in court ... yet," Kennedy replied, raising the ire of defense attorney Victor Salerno.

Magallon, who appeared in a blue dress shirt and a shaved head, looked back over his shoulder to someone sitting in the packed courtroom audience and smiled.

Opening statements began with Deputy District Attorney Darren Levine telling the jury that, really, the case is pretty simple:

-There's a co-defendant who told the whole story to the police and during a preliminary hearing. Orvis Anthony said they set out to do a robbery and Magallon saw Sparkes riding his bicycle and wanted to "jack" him. Anthony's previous testimony will be read to the jury.

-There's the AK-47 assault rifle, recovered from Anthony's gang "stash" car ouside his Gardena residence. Ballistics, DNA and gunshot residue all tie Magallon to the military-style assault weapon used by U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq.

-Before dying, Sparkes fired off 16 rounds from his handgun - hitting Magallon in the torso and "marking him for life," Levine said.

-The jury will also hear Sparkes 911 call, made as he lay bleeding on the ground after the first round of shootings and before being fired on moments later from the same suspects on the car.

"Officer down!" Sparkes yelled. "Help me, Jesus.... Come on man, they had, they killed me."

Sparkes was the head of security at County-Harbor UCLA Medical Center, and was on his way to work on his red Schwin before dawn when he was killed.

Trial will resume this afternoon with Salerno's opening statement, The guilt phase is expected to last until late next week. If convicted, there will be a penalty phase.

David Roberts, 30, was sentenced to 13 years in state prison today for crashing into and killing Bill Cunha, a homeless man, in Carson on Aug. 12, 2007.

Roberts, who had pleaded no contest to vehicular manslaughter and hit-and-run, tearfully apologized to Cunha's family at the Compton Superior Court hearing. He accepted a hug from Cunha's sister, Sheila Cunha, before he was taken to the court's lock-up. Family members of both men said they'd pray for each other.

Larry was in court and heading back. He'll have a full story later at www.dailybreeze.com.

Here's the story.

Jesus Miguel Sedillo, 22, of Carson, was convicted of killing Manuel Lopez, 17, and Richard Romero, 19, both of Wilmington in two separate shootings in 2006.

Romero was killed on Halloween night as he sat in a car with his sister and cousin. Sedillo wore a wolf mask during the crime.

We'll have a full story later in the Daily Breeze and online at www.dailybreeze.com.

We just got word that a man was shot to death Sunday around 3:40 p.m. in the 200 block of E. 215th Street in Carson. We're gathering information and will let you know more details when we know them.