COVINA — A jury convicted two men Friday for fatally shooting a Covina man last year, authorities said.
Jeremy Michael Vindiola, 24, of West Covina and Wilson Omar Alfaro, 27, of Fontana were found guilty in the June 17, 2008 shooting death of 23-year-old Edward Galvan, Covina police Sgt. Trevor Gaumer said in a written statement.
“The jury deliberated for approximately three hours and found both Vindiola and Alfaro guilty of first-degree murder,” the statement said.
The men allegedly shot and killed Galvan as he gathered with several other people in front of an apartment building in the 100 block of North Vecino Drive.
Authorities believed both the suspects and victim had gang ties, though family members of Galvan denied he was involved with gangs.
Vindiola was captured eleven days after the shooting as he got into a parked car in Covina, Gaumer said.
A multi-agency task force arrested Alfaro at an auto dealership in Montclair a few weeks later, he added.
A third suspect, a 19-year-old West Covina man, was initially arrested in connection with the slaying but later released after officials declined to file charges against him, authorities said.
Both Vindiola and Alfaro face the possibility of life in prison when they’re sentenced in August, officials said.