Man Charged in Shootings

A reputed gang member from Canoga Park was charged Tuesday with four counts of attempted murder for an alleged shooting spree at a gas station that left four people wounded, two of them seriously.

Javier Sanchez, 18, was accused of being one of two gunmen who opened fire early Saturday morning at a station near the intersection of Victory Boulevard and Topanga Canyon Boulevard in Canoga Park.

Sanchez and a 16-year-old boy drove to the station just after midnight and opened fire in an unprovoked attack, according to Deputy Dist. Atty. Robert L. Cohen.

The four victims, who were driving home from a party, were also identified as gang members, Cohen said, but “the victims didn’t know the these guys, and the shooters weren’t at the party.”

An off-duty Los Angeles police officer, David Hernandez, witnessed the attack and followed the getaway vehicle for about five miles, Cohen said. At one point, Sanchez leaned out of the car window and aimed his handgun at Hernandez but did not fire, perhaps because he was out of ammunition, Cohen said.

Sanchez was charged with assault with a deadly weapon for allegedly pointing his gun at Hernandez. The second gunman will be prosecuted by juvenile authorities.

The two most seriously injured in the attack--Cedric Dante Johnson, 19, of Canoga Park, and Terrance Vickers, 22, of Reseda--remain hospitalized, authorities said.