Gang member gets 50 years to life in 2011 Wilmington shooting death

A 25-year-old woman was sentenced Tuesday to 50 years to life in state prison for fatally shooting a teenager in a Wilmington alley, authorities said.

On Jan. 29, after a five-day trial, a jury convicted Misty Marie Magallon, 25, of first-degree murder with an allegation that she intentionally discharged a firearm causing death, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Rebecca Brownstone. The jury deliberated a little more than three hours.

About 3 p.m. on Nov. 20, 2011, Magallon walked up to Richard Rodriguez, 17, in an alley in the 1000 block of North Ronan Avenue in Wilmington and shot him more than 20 times.

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A man heard the shots and saw Magallon run through the alley with a gun in her hand.

The witness recognized Magallon, who had lived in the neighborhood before the shooting. The man had also recognized a tattoo of a “W” on Magallon’s neck. The tattoo stood for the Westside Wilmas, the gang to which Magallon and Rodriguez belonged.

The witness ended up being key in the case, Brownstone said.

“Only one really had the guts to come out and stand up and say what they saw,” she said.

Magallon was arrested two days after the killing.