Stiff Penalties in Drive-By Shootings Pushed : Crime: Governor, joined by a young East Los Angeles victim, calls for passage of a bill to make such killers subject to the death penalty or life in prison.

With a shy, 7-year-old victim of a drive-by shooting posed next to him, Gov. Pete Wilson appealed Friday for Assembly passage of a bill that would make drive-by killers subject to the death penalty or life in prison.

At a press conference in the middle of Kern Street in East Los Angeles, steps from where Wendy Espinoza was seriously wounded by bullets in May, Wilson declared that “the killing has got to stop.”

“Los Angeles is literally under siege. In every neighborhood, on almost every street corner in this city, innocent people are being threatened or being wounded, and many are being killed by senseless violence,” the governor said.

Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Gil Garcetti and county Undersheriff Jerry Harper joined Wilson in asking the Assembly Public Safety Committee to approve the bill when it comes up for a vote Tuesday.

Under present law, drive-by killings do not fall into the “special circumstance” category that allows for a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty. Now, Wilson said, those convicted of the crime can be released from prison in 15 years or less.

The state Senate sent the proposal, sponsored by Democrat Ruben Ayala of Chino, to the Assembly after passing it 28 to 1. Wilson said he is optimistic that the bill will be approved by the committee, which he has long criticized as a graveyard for tough anti-crime legislation.

“This is not a partisan issue,” he said. “Children are not a partisan issue. This is a matter of life and death.”

Still, Wilson made a special appeal to constituents of Democratic Assemblyman Burt Margolin of Los Angeles, asking them to “communicate . . . the urgency” to the legislator’s office. Aides to Wilson described Margolin as the key swing vote needed for committee passage. The assemblyman could not be reached for comment about his position on the bill.

If the bill wins committee and Assembly passage, it would have to be ratified by California voters because it represents an addition to the state Constitution.

Wendy’s shooting, which formed the symbolic backdrop for Wilson’s news conference, was typical of the thousands of drive-by incidents that annually wreak violence in Los Angeles neighborhoods.

On the first Sunday in May, the little girl was playing on a thin patch of grass across the street from her home when gang members gathered nearby came under fire. The bullets, which were believed to come from a dark vehicle one street east of Wendy’s home, passed through a metal fence and struck her in the stomach and elbow.

According to family members, she spent six weeks in the hospital recovering from her injuries. An alleged gang member shot in the same incident suffered a chest wound, but has also recovered, authorities said.

With Wendy at his side, a stern-faced Wilson was told of the crime’s particulars by Sheriff’s Deputy Rod Johnson, who is among those investigating the shooting.

“People are scared,” Johnson told Wilson. “They’re just scared to live in the community.”

Replied Wilson, who has long campaigned to toughen anti-crime laws: “People who engage in that sort of random, senseless butchery should be prepared to pay for it with their own lives.”

The governor and law enforcement officials at the Friday news conference argued that stiffer penalties would serve as a deterrent to gang members.

“Will it stop drive-by shootings? No, it’s not going to stop drive-by shootings,” Garcetti said. “What we’re trying to do is reduce the number. This is one way of doing it.”

After their remarks, Wilson, Garcetti and Harper were repeatedly applauded by relatives of children who have lost their lives in gang-related shootings.

But one woman questioned whether the new law was the most effective approach.

“There’s a lot more that can be done, like gun control,” Terry Solis called out as Wilson strode past.

“This is all after the fact,” she said later.

In any case, the proposed law would have little effect on the gunmen who shot Wendy--no one was killed in the incident and the assailants have not been captured.