Local News in Brief : 2 Gang Members Sent to Prison in Slaying

Two North Hollywood gang members were sentenced to prison terms Thursday in the execution-style slaying of a Los Angeles man on a North Hollywood street corner last year.

David Arqueta, 20, and Jeffrey Prieto, 22, were convicted of second-degree murder by San Fernando Superior Court Judge Howard J. Schwab on Nov. 7.

Arqueta was sentenced to 17 years to life in prison, and Prieto to 15 years to life in prison. Arqueta received the stiffer sentence because authorities believe he fired the gun, Deputy Dist. Atty. Edward Nison said.

Arqueta and Prieto were found guilty along with Jorge Galvez, 18, of fatally shooting Ruben Macias, 20, four times in the head and once in the hip and abdomen with a .22-caliber rifle on Nov. 16, 1987. Galvez, a juvenile at the time of the killing, is scheduled to be sentenced in February.

Witnesses testified that on Nov. 16, they saw Arqueta and Prieto get out of a car, driven by Galvez, about 9 p.m. at Laurel Canyon Boulevard and Sheldon Street. Arqueta carried a rifle, the witnesses said. But nobody actually saw the shooting.

Three days later, Arqueta and Prieto were arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon when witnesses saw Arqueta fire six rounds from a .22-caliber rifle into the window of a doughnut shop near Laurel Canyon and Roscoe boulevards.