Local News in Brief : Killer Gets 42-Year Term

A South-Central Los Angeles man has been sentenced to 42 years to life in state prison for executing a man in front of the victim’s three brothers after boasting that he headed one of the city’s largest gangs.

Superior Court Judge John Reid imposed the sentence on Victor R. Castellanos, 30, who was convicted in April of one count of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder. Prosecutors said Castellanos did not face a possible death penalty because they could not determine any special-circumstance allegations to file against him.

Castellanos was on parole from a robbery conviction when he and several companions tried to rob Angel Herrera, 24, of his ring on Dec. 13, 1986, in an apartment building near the Coliseum. When Herrera asked Castellanos why he wanted to rob him, Castellanos replied that he was chief of the 18th Street Gang, one of the city’s largest, and that Herrera was in his territory, Deputy Dist. Atty. Mike Knight said.

Castellanos asked a cohort to get a handgun for him, then Castellanos put the weapon to Herrera’s head and shot him to death in front of his three brothers and two friends, the prosecutor said.