North Hollywood Man Convicted of Murder
A 27-year-old North Hollywood resident was found guilty Thursday of shooting a man to death after robbing him of his gambling winnings.
A Van Nuys Superior Court jury deliberated one day before finding Manuel Castellano guilty of first-degree murder in the March 31, 1987, shooting death of Enrique Mendoza, 32.
The shooting occurred after Mendoza won an undisclosed sum of money in a card and dice game in a garage in the 7300 block of Tampa Avenue, said Deputy Public Defender Daniel A. Kuperberg, Castellano’s attorney.
After offering Mendoza a ride home, Castellano drove him to the parking lot of the Loehmann’s Plaza shopping center at Victory Boulevard and Tampa Avenue and shot him, prosecutors said.
The driver of a delivery truck found Mendoza’s body the next morning.
Kuperberg contended that the key witness against Castellano, Bonerge Maldonado, shot Castellano. Maldonado, who was present at the card game and shooting, was given immunity in exchange for his testimony.
Castellano, a native of El Salvador, faces a maximum sentence of 27 years to life when he is sentenced on May 10, Kuperberg said.
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