Jury convicts Fontana taggers of attempted murder

FONTANA -- A jury found two alleged gang members guilty of two counts each of attempted murder this afternoon for shooting at a father and son who interrupted them while they were tagging last year.

Angel Valencia, 20, and Andrew Valdivia, 19, both of Fontana, could each face up to life in prison when they are sentenced Jan. 13 for the September 2008 shooting, in which one of the victims was shot twice.

Jurors heard four days of testimony in the alleged gang members' trial, and deliberated for a full day before reaching guilty verdicts this afternoon.

In addition to two counts of attempted murder, a jury affirmed numerous additional allegations against Valencia and Valdivia that will lengthen their prison sentences.

According to authorities, Valencia and Valdivia were spotted tagging a wall in Fontana's Southridge neighborhood by an man, then 18, who notified his father. The father and son returned to the area with baseball bats and Valencia and Valdivia fled.

The two alleged taggers later enlisted a third man to drive them to the father and son's home, and Valencia and Valdivia allegedly opened fire when they arrived. The father, then 41, was shot twice.

The alleged driver, 24-year-old Daniel Casas, testified against Valencia and Valdivia during the trial in exchange for a plea bargain from prosecutors that carried a one-year jail sentence.