Gang Member Gets Maximum Term for Slaying in Mall

A gang member who accidentally killed a teen-ager when he opened fire on a rival at a mall crowded with Christmas shoppers was sentenced Thursday to 32 years to life in prison plus a consecutive term of life in prison.

Van Nuys Superior Court Judge Darlene E. Schempp gave Roger Leon White, 23, of Van Nuys the maximum sentence possible. He will not be eligible for parole for 27 years, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Shellie Samuels.

A jury on Jan. 4 convicted White of first-degree murder in the Dec. 16, 1988, death of Sergio Alpuche, 16, also of Van Nuys, at the Panorama City Mall.

Alpuche, an A-student at Birmingham High School with no gang affiliation, was shopping for Christmas presents when he was shot.

Alpuche’s mother and 19-year-old sister, who asked not to be identified because they fear retaliation from gang members, praised the sentence.

“We’re glad the public is recognizing that these are gang members and not letting them get away with it,” the sister said. “They’ve caused enough damage by one single act.”

The sister, who was in the mall at the time of the shooting, said her brother was slain within feet of a booth crowded with children waiting to get their picture taken with Santa Claus.

White’s accomplice in the shooting, William Stalling, 19, of Pacoima, has already pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy in the shooting. He was sentenced to the one year he had already served in jail since his arrest.

White and Stalling, both members of the Crips, confronted Ernest Townsend, a member of the rival Bloods gang, as he walked past the mall with his girlfriend and baby and ordered him to put the baby down. Townsend said he ran inside the mall and handed the baby to a friend before the shooting began, Samuels said.

White’s attorney, James D. Gregory, told jurors that there was no evidence that White shot Alpuche. He told jurors that a key witness changed her testimony and argued that several witnesses gave conflicting testimony in identifying White.