Testimony ends in Dead Presidents death penalty phase

Testimony in the death penalty phase of the so-called "Dead Presidents" trial ended Wednesday in San Bernardino Superior Court, according to court sources.
Jurors have been listening to witnesses testify in the penalty phase to decide whether the two defendants - Luis Alonzo Mendoza and Lorenzo Inez Arias - should receive the death penalty or be sentenced to a life in state prison without parole.
Witnesses who testified in this phase have included family members of the victims and defendants, friends and experts. Jurors also heard details about the defendants' criminal history, personal background and family life while growing up.
Closing arguments from the lawyers are expected next week, and then the case will go to the jury for a second time.
Jurors already convicted Mendoza and Arias earlier this month for their roles in a quadruple homicide on West Vine Street in July 2000.
Authorities say Mendoza, 32, and Arias, 29, were part of a four-man crew that targeted street gang president Johnny Agudo because he had given information to police about another gang member.
Also killed were Agudo's 27-year-old brother, Gilbert Agudo; Anthony Daniel Luna, 23; and Luna's half-brother, Marselino Gregory Luna, 19.
Deputy District Attorney Cheryl Kersey has told jurors Mendoza was motivated by his desire to lead the gang, to eliminate an informant, to protect his own neighborhood and to increase his reputation.
Because the Agudo brothers were presidents of two local street gangs, some in law-enforcement circles have dubbed the case "Dead Presidents."
Another defendant in the case, John Adrian Ramirez, 34, recently took a plea bargain. A fourth man, Froylan Chiprez, 33, remains a fugitive.