Man, 19, Gets 39 Years to Life in Shooting
A Van Nuys gang member was sentenced to 39 years to life in prison Tuesday for a street robbery and shooting that left a man dead and a woman injured.
Amado Nunez, 19, was sentenced by Van Nuys Superior Court Judge Stephen D. Petersen for first-degree murder during the course of a robbery and for attempted murder.
Deputy Dist. Atty. Shellie Samuels said Nunez robbed William Spensley, 31, of Reseda and Ivanka Fernandez, 24, of San Fernando on Aug. 7 while the couple were in a pickup truck on Delano Street in Van Nuys.
According to evidence presented in Nunez’s trial earlier this year, Spensley had driven to the area to buy drugs and stopped when Nunez approached the truck.
After being robbed at gunpoint, Spensley drove about a block and stopped. Samuels said Nunez ran up to the pickup and fired into it, hitting both occupants. Spensley was killed in the shooting and Fernandez was injured but has since recovered.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
