Man Gets Maximum Sentence in Gang Slaying

A Sun Valley man has been sentenced to 26 years to life in state prison for his role in the shooting death of a rival gang member at Hansen Dam Park.

San Fernando Superior Court Judge Howard J. Schwab on Monday imposed the maximum sentence on Juan Antonio Zuniga, 19.

A jury on Dec. 27 convicted Zuniga of first-degree murder for aiding in the killing of Jose Venegas Jr. of Pacoima. Venegas, 15, and four friends were in the park July 4 when two men drove up and “threw gang looks” at the group, according to court documents. There also was an exchange of words.

The car’s occupants, later identified as Zuniga and Juan Peralta, each carried .25-caliber guns as they got out and approached Venegas, according to witnesses. Peralta shot Venegas once in the left arm. The boy fell to the ground and Peralta shot him twice in the back, witnesses said.

Police traced the car to Zuniga and arrested him the next day. Peralta escaped to Mexico, where there is a warrant for his arrest, according to court documents.

Before Zuniga was sentenced, his attorney, Bernard Rosen, pleaded with the judge to sentence his client for second-degree murder. Rosen argued that Zuniga did not know that Peralta intended to kill Venegas.

But during the sentencing, Schwab described the killing as a “vicious assassination” committed with a “high degree of cruelty.”

Zuniga will be eligible for parole in 13 years.