Two gang members guilty of murder for fatal shooting of Pasadena youth coach on Christmas Day

McClinton1

PASADENA >> After more than two weeks of deliberations, a jury convicted to gang members Friday of murder and other charges for fatally shooting a community coach and sheriff’s employee with an errant bullet intended for a rival gang member on Christmas Day, 2012.
A Los Angeles Superior Court jury found Bloods gang members Larry Darnell Bishop, 23, of Chino and Jerron Donald Harris, 28, of Pasadena, guilty of first-degree murder for the death of Victor McClinton, 49, of Pasadena, Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office spokesman Ricardo Santiago said.
The verdict followed a mistrial last year and came, “after 15 days of court deliberations.” Santiago said.
In addition to first-degree murder, the jury also found true the special circumstances that the killing was gang related, and that the shots were fired from a moving vehicle, Santiago said. The jury also found that Harris personally used a firearm in the crime, but did not find true the prosecution’s allegation that Bishop also fired a gun in the killing.
Both men were also found guilty of one count of attempted murder each, Santiago said. The jury convicted Harris of shooting at an occupied dwelling, but acquitted Bishop of the same charge.
McClinton2Though the special circumstances in the murder made Bishop and Harris potentially eligible for the death penalty, prosecutors did not seek capital punishment in the case, Santiago said. They were expected to be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole when they return to court for sentencing July 15.
McClinton, a father of two who worked as a law enforcement technician for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and founded the Brotherhood Community Youth Sports League in Pasadena, was walking down the street in the 1900 block of Newport Avenue about a 11 a.m. with a Christmas gift in-hand when the shooting occurred, according to police and prosecutors.
Harris and Bishop spotted, then opened fire on, a rival gang member, officials said. The intended target was wounded. McClinton was struck by a stray bullet and succumbed to his wounds at a hospital a short time later.

PHOTOS: [TOP]: Victor J. McClinton. Portrait photographed at memorial on the steps of Pasadena City Hall in Pasadena on Dec. 27, 2012. (Correspondent Photo by James Carbone/SVCITY) [BELOW]: Pamela Simmons, left, and Pasadena Police Chief Phillip L. Sanchez, center, hold hands with family and friends, during a Candlelight Memorial in Remembrance of Victor J. McClinton, on the steps of Pasadena City Hall in Pasadena, Thursday, December 27, 2012. (Correspondent Photo by James Carbone/SVCITY)

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