Asian gang leader sentenced for eight murders
From staff and wire reports:
LOS ANGELES -- A judge Wednesday sentenced founding member of an Asian street gang convicted of murdering eight people -- including three teenagers shot to death on a freeway in El Monte -- to spend the rest of his life behind bars.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert Perry sentenced Marvin Mercado, 37, to eight consecutive life terms in prison, Los Angeles County District Attorney's officials said in a written statement. A jury recommended life imprisonment, as opposed to death, earlier this month.
The jury convicted Mercado, whom officials described as a "shot caller" in the Asian Boyz street gang, in February of eight counts of murder and 10 counts of attempted murder. The jury also found true special allegations of gang involvement, gun use and multiple murder.
"The charges stem from the defendant's participation in six gang-motivated shootings between April 1995 and March 1996," according to the District Attorney's Office statement.
"To escape prosecution, the defendant fled the country and lived in the Philippines under a false name for approximately 12 years."
He was arrested in the Philippines in 2007, then deported to the U.S. to face trial in mid-2009.
While Mercado remained on the run, seven co-defendants were convicted in 2009 after a six-month trial in 1999. All were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Among the victims of Mercado and his cohorts were Cheng Peng, 18, Paul Vu, 16, and Ben Liao, 16, who were shot to death in a car-to-car attack on the 10 Freeway in El Monte on Aug. 1, 1995.
Officials said they were mistaken for members of a rival street gang when three cars filled with Asian Boyz gang members followed them away from a cafe on Peck Road and opened fire on them on the westbound 10 Freeway near Temple City Boulevard.
The crimes took place in Canoga Park, El Monte, Mission Hills, Reseda and Van Nuys.
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CONTRIBUTORS
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| Frank Girardot, Metro Editor for the San Gabriel Valley Newspapers, brings you behind the yellow tape with takes on true crime, cold cases and more. This is also your forum to discuss crime, its impact on your neighborhood and how we cover it. Have any questions or tips? You can leave a comment here or e-mail Frank. |
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Brian Day is the crime reporter for the San Gabriel Valley Newspaper group. E-mail Brian. |
ABZ WANKSTA CRIPS ARE NOTHING BUT LIL KID SHOOTERS...WEAK ADOLECENT MINDS CORRUPTED BY RICE N FISH..THEY NEED TO HOP OFF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN BANDWAGON AND BE THEMSELVES..AS IF THEY WERE REALLY EVEN A THREAT..HAHA NOT IN THE SAN FERNANDO VALLEY..ALL OF MARVIN MERCADOS VICTIMS WERE YOUNG CHILDREN, WHO WERE MORE LIKELY HARMLESS...THE ASIAN POPULATION IN THE SFV IS NOTHING LIKE THIS THEYRE ALL BOOKWORMS N COMPUTERLAB KIDS..JUST THE FEW WHO COME DOWN FROM THE LONG BEACH AREA THAT ARE INFLUENCED BY THE ROLLING 20 CRIPS AND THE B.I.G. CRIPS GANG TWO GANGS WHO ARE RIVALS YET GET ALONG MOSTLY EVERYWHERE..(WEIRD IF YOU ASK ME).THE ABZ POPULATION IS FOUND IN WHAT I LIKE TO CALL "THE LIL CHINA TOWN OF THE SFV" ITS OFF OF VAN NUYS BLVD AND VALERIO NORTH OF SHERMAN WAY..THEY HAVE A SERIES OF APARTMENT BUILDINGS THAT THEY CALL THEYRE "HOOD" ITS ABOUT 6 BUILDINGS ON ONE LOT.THEIR GANG MEMBERS RANGE FROM CAMBODIAN MONGOLIAN TUNGAN SAMOAN AND EVEN FILIPINOS...VERY FEW CHINESE ACTUALLY. OVERALL I RATE THIS A WEAK GANG...TWO THUMBS UP.......
WAY UP......
...THEIR BUTTS.
ABZ WANKSTA CRIPS ARE NOTHING BUT LIL KID SHOOTERS...WEAK ADOLECENT MINDS CORRUPTED BY RICE N FISH..THEY NEED TO HOP OFF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN BANDWAGON AND BE THEMSELVES..AS IF THEY WERE REALLY EVEN A THREAT..HAHA NOT IN THE SAN FERNANDO VALLEY..ALL OF MARVIN MERCADOS VICTIMS WERE YOUNG CHILDREN, WHO WERE MORE LIKELY HARMLESS...THE ASIAN POPULATION IN THE SFV IS NOTHING LIKE THIS THEYRE ALL BOOKWORMS N COMPUTERLAB KIDS..JUST THE FEW WHO COME DOWN FROM THE LONG BEACH AREA THAT ARE INFLUENCED BY THE ROLLING 20 CRIPS AND THE B.I.G. CRIPS GANG TWO GANGS WHO ARE RIVALS YET GET ALONG MOSTLY EVERYWHERE..(WEIRD IF YOU ASK ME).THE ABZ POPULATION IS FOUND IN WHAT I LIKE TO CALL "THE LIL CHINA TOWN OF THE SFV" ITS OFF OF VAN NUYS BLVD AND VALERIO NORTH OF SHERMAN WAY..THEY HAVE A SERIES OF APARTMENT BUILDINGS THAT THEY CALL THEYRE "HOOD" ITS ABOUT 6 BUILDINGS ON ONE LOT.THEIR GANG MEMBERS RANGE FROM CAMBODIAN MONGOLIAN TUNGAN SAMOAN AND EVEN FILIPINOS...VERY FEW CHINESE ACTUALLY. OVERALL I RATE THIS A WEAK GANG...TWO THUMBS UP.......
WAY UP......
...THEIR BUTTS.
Lol yet u did a full on study about them and know everything about them Hahahahahaah