Jury Picks Life Terms for Gang Members

A Torrance Superior Court jury recommended Friday that two Lennox gang members spend the rest of their lives in prison for murdering a 15-year-old girl who was a witness to another killing.

Pedro (Wacc) Diego and Bennie (Ben Dog) Bellfield, who earlier were convicted of first-degree murder in the shotgun slaying of Renee Johnson, will be sentenced May 17 by Judge Jean E. Matusinka.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Janet Moore had asked the jury to recommend the death penalty for Diego and Bellfield, both 24, but jurors said afterward that they came to their verdict--life in prison without the possibility of parole--in part because neither man had a previous record of violent crime.

“Most of us felt that the death penalty should be reserved for heinous crimes, and this did not fall in that category,” added the jury foreman, who asked that his name not be used. “It wasn’t killing for the enjoyment of killing.”

Despite their rejection of her request for the death penalty, Moore said she is “very satisfied” with the verdict.

“Life without possibility of parole is a very stiff punishment, and these defendants deserve it,” Moore said. “My concern was that society be protected from these individuals for as long as possible.”

In addition to Johnson’s murder, jurors also convicted Diego of second-degree murder for shooting 40-year-old Charles Long to death in front of several witnesses on a Lennox street corner July 12, 1989.

Jurors concluded that Diego, who was in jail on suspicion of Long’s murder at the time of Johnson’s death, conspired with Bellfield to kill the girl after Diego heard that she had talked to police about the Long shooting.

During the five-week trial, witnesses testified that Bellfield forced his way into Johnson’s Osage Avenue apartment at 3 a.m. Sept. 16, 1989, and opened fire with a shotgun, Moore said.

Johnson was struck at point-blank range at least twice, once in the head and once in the neck, Moore said.

Her mother, Ann Johnson, 46, was shot in the stomach and thigh. Although seriously wounded, she survived the attack.

Bellfield also fired at one of Johnson’s relatives, Tony Patton, who escaped injury when he rolled from his bed and tried to hide. Moore said Bellfield apparently ran out of shotgun shells after that shot and fled.

During the trial, defense attorneys argued that witnesses to both the Long and Johnson shootings gave inconsistent testimony about what happened and may not have clearly seen the assailants.

Attorney Leo Newton, who represented Bellfield, praised the jury’s decision against the death penalty, but he expressed disappointment about the conviction.

“We are obviously very relieved,” said Newton, who said he will appeal the conviction.

A few days before Diego was arrested for the Long shooting, witnesses testified that Diego went to the Johnson apartment and waved a gun at several family members, threatening to kill anyone who talked to police.

Moore said the Johnson family members initially were uncooperative witnesses to the Long shooting, at first denying that they had seen anything, but later slowly disclosing details to police.

Although Renee Johnson, who knew both Bellfield and Diego, had told police that she did not see the actual shooting, she had said she heard Diego asking for a gun and heard shots fired just seconds later.