Local News in Brief : Gang Member Guilty in Teen’s Murder
A suspected gang member who chased down and killed a 15-year-old boy in Hollenbeck Park in Los Angeles last year has been convicted of first-degree murder.
After 3 1/2 days of deliberations, a jury found Leon Serafin guilty of the murder of Rafael Covarrubias, who was shot to death at the park Sept. 25, 1987.
Serafin faces up to 27 years to life in prison when sentenced next month.
“The fact that this heinous execution can happen at a park at 12 o’clock noon speaks to the daily tragedy on our streets,” Deputy Dist. Atty. Jeff Giordano said.
The shooting came after a standoff involving Serafin, two friends and a group of about half a dozen other youths at a taco stand near the park, Giordano said.
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