Three young men were sentenced to prison Wednesday for their roles in the 2013 gang-related stabbing death of a 16-year-old boy near Oceanside High School in a dispute about graffiti and vandalism.
Omar Alejandro Garcia, Jose Luis Zamognra and Roberto Medina, all 19, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and gang allegations in the death of Javier Luna.
Zamora and Medina were sentenced to 16 years behind bars. Garcia received an 11-year prison sentence.
Earlier this month, 19-year-old Juan Zarita was sentenced to 22 years behind bars and Francisco Barajas, 22, was given a 21-year prison term. Both pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in connection with the boy’s death.
On Jan. 29, 2013, about 1:45 p.m., officers responding to an assault report found the teen in the courtyard of an apartment complex on South Weitzel Street, suffering from chest wounds. The youth, who lived nearby, was declared dead shortly afterward.
Oceanside police Capt. Ray Bechler said a dispute between rival gangs over graffiti and vandalism prompted the fatal assault.
Investigators believe the defendants sought retaliation for graffiti and vandalism that occurred in their Eastlake neighborhood, not far from Crown Heights, where the victim lived.
Bechler said the teen was affiliated with the gang in his neighborhood, which his family denied.
— City News Service
