San Diego

A jury Monday recommended the death penalty for a 38-year-old San Diego man convicted of three execution-style slayings in 1985.

After deliberating about 3 hours and 15 minutes, the San Diego Superior Court jury returned the death verdict against Ronaldo Ayala. The same jury convicted Ayala two months ago in the April 26, 1985, shootings of Ernesto (Cha Cho) Mendez Dominguez, 30; his brother-in-law, Marco Zamora-Villa, 31, and Jose (Cucay) Luis Rositas, 24.

The drug-related shootings took place in a garage where heroin had been sold in Southeast San Diego. All of the victims were bound and gagged.

A survivor, Pedro Castillo, 42, testified that Ayala was one of three men who shot the victims and himself.

Judge Napoleon Jones Jr. set formal sentencing for Feb. 3. He has the authority to overturn the verdict and impose a sentence of life without the possibility of parole.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Gloria Michaels, the co-prosecutor, said of the verdict: “It was appropriate given his record and the nature of the crime.”

“This was a quick verdict,” Ayala’s attorney, Elisabeth Semel, said. “This is about as quick as it gets.”

Juror Jim Cosgrove said jurors voted 11 to 1 Wednesday in favor of the death penalty, then recessed for several days. After deliberating only an hour Monday morning, they reached their verdict.

“Everyone felt it was the only just verdict we could come up with,” Cosgrove said. “It was pretty cut and dried for most people.”

Prosecutors presented evidence during the trial’s penalty phase suggesting that Ayala had a history of assault in prison, including involvement in several stabbings and a slaying, for which he was never prosecuted.

Semel said one juror she talked with afterward cited “the crime as the overwhelming consideration” in imposing the death sentence.

Ayala’s brother, Hector Ayala, 36, will go on trial in March in connection with the slayings. A third co-defendant, Jose Moreno, 49, will stand trial after Hector Ayala’s trial.

Ronaldo Ayala was also convicted of attempted murder of Castillo, attempted robbery of the murder victims, and robbery of Castillo.

The special-circumstances allegations found true were that the murders were multiple and occurred during an attempted robbery.