4 Teen-Agers Get 25 Years to Life in Gang Slaying

Calling society the “ultimate loser,” an Orange County Juvenile Court judge on Wednesday sentenced four 15-year-old boys each to 25 years to life in prison for the gang-related shooting of 16-year-old John Leon Casillas in July.

The youths, all alleged members of La Colonia, a gang in unincorporated Anaheim, were convicted last month of first-degree murder. They face a maximum of 10 years in custody because, as juveniles, they cannot be held past age 25.

“Rather than looking forward to what (they) should be looking forward to . . . going to school and dating, they set out to commit the murder of a young man, shattering the lives of the victim’s family, and, whether or not they realize it, shattering their lives and their families’ lives,” Judge Manuel A. Ramirez told a crowded courtroom. “Society is the ultimate loser because now we have to provide surroundings for these men at the expense of the taxpayers.”

As their relatives wept, the boyish-looking defendants--Daniel Corona, Hector Moreida, Mauro Ramirez and Alfredo Romero--sat expressionless during the sentencing. After the proceedings, however, they broke down during a brief visit with their families.

“I love you, Mommy,” Ramirez said tearfully to his mother before being transported to Orange County Juvenile Hall, where the four youths will remain temporarily. They will serve their time at the California Youth Authority in Chino.

The teen-agers were convicted of first-degree murder in the death of Casillas, who was killed July 21 as he walked home from a party. Deputy Dist. Atty. John Anderson said the killing was the latest in a cycle of violence between La Colonia and Big Stanton, two neighborhood gangs that have been feuding for decades.

This recent conflict was reignited April 1 with the shooting of Balthazar Medina, a member of Big Stanton. Big Stanton members then went looking for revenge and found it April 30, when they gunned down Rosendo Ibarra as he talked on a pay phone, prosecutors said. But the violence did not end there.

Three months later, La Colonia members ambushed Casillas. Although Casillas did not belong to a gang, sheriff’s investigators believe that he was killed in retaliation for Ibarra’s murder.

Casillas’ father, John Casillas Sr., sat alone during the sentencing hearing across from two rows of the defendants’ relatives. Afterward, Casillas said he was satisfied with the sentence.

“I am very content with how the system has worked,” he said. “I have nothing else to say.”

Prosecutors, meanwhile, hailed the sentence, the maximum allowable for a juvenile. Anderson said the only alternative would have been probation, which was out of the question.

Anderson said the sentence had dealt a “serious blow” to the structure of the La Colonia organization.

“Sure, there are still a lot of gang members out there, but these are the stars--kind of like a football team,” Anderson said. “You take out a (Joe) Montana, a (Jerry) Rice and two other stars and, sure, you’ll still have a football team, but it won’t be a very good one.”

“Looking at the nature of the crime, these were some of the leaders,” the prosecutor said. “This has dealt a tremendous blow to the structure of the gang because they won’t have the same leadership.”