CALIFORNIA IN BRIEF : SANTA ANA : 2 Gang Members Guilty of Murder

Two Santa Ana gang members were convicted of murder in a drive-by shooting that left two people dead, including a 4-year-old boy who was sitting in a car with his family. But a separate jury, sitting in on the same trial, deadlocked on murder verdicts for a third defendant--identified by prosecutors as the actual triggerman--and convicted him on a single count of murder conspiracy. Authorities have called the Sept. 15, 1989, shooting in Garden Grove the worst gang shooting in Orange County history. Louis P. Valadez, 28, and Robert P. Figueroa, 20, now face automatic sentences of life without parole on their double-murder convictions. Roman G. Menchaca, 19, faces a sentence of 25 years to life for conspiracy.