2 Men Convicted in Arson Fire That Killed 5 : Crime: The defendants poured gasoline into a mail chute and started the blaze. They face possible death sentences.

Two men accused of pouring gasoline through a family’s mail chute and setting a fire that killed three young children, their mother and great-grandmother were convicted of murder and arson Thursday.

Harold Mangram, 48, and Victor Spencer, 39, did not show any signs of emotion as a court clerk read the jury’s verdicts.

The courtroom was filled with spectators, including relatives of the victims and defendants, and an entire unit of police officers who worked on the case. The crowd also showed no emotion, having been admonished by Superior Court Judge Charles E. Horan to remain quiet when the verdicts were read.

Authorities said Mangram, Spencer and a third man, Frank Villareal, 29, who testified against them and who will be placed on probation as a result, set the fire two years ago at the Jordan Downs housing project in Watts to ingratiate themselves with crack cocaine dealers. The dealers sold drugs from the victims’ front porch and had made it known that they were angry that the family moved into what had been a vacant unit.

The arsonists--all reputed drug addicts--hoped to be paid in crack, the prosecution argued.

Killed were Marta Zuniga Lopez, 22, all of her children, ages 2, 4 and 5, and Margarita Medina Hernandez, 78. Twelve members of the Zuniga family escaped the blaze, which broke out while most were asleep.

During the three months the Zunigas lived in Jordan Downs, they were harassed daily by the drug dealers, family members said. They recalled in a recent interview that their tormentors sometimes blew crack smoke through the mail chute into the room where their children played.

The fire “was a despicable crime and it was all caused by drugs,” Deputy Dist. Atty. Sterling Norris said outside the courtroom after the verdicts were read. “It’s another example of what cocaine has done to the community.”

Norris also revealed that Mangram has served prison time for second-degree murder and Spencer has served time for voluntary manslaughter. He said those convictions will be used against them in the penalty phase of the trial, scheduled to start Dec. 13.

The jury, which found each man guilty of five counts of first-degree murder and one count of arson, must decide whether to recommend the death penalty to Judge Horan.

A brother of Mangram who was in the courtroom when the verdicts were read later told reporters that he agrees that the crime was horrible, but that death is too severe a penalty.

“I have been told that the intent was not to kill anyone, just to scare them,” said Billy Mangram of Lancaster.

Members of the Zuniga family declined to comment on whether the death penalty should be imposed, saying they are content to let the legal system decide.

Norris said that Villareal, who pleaded guilty to a count of voluntary manslaughter, will face a 19-year sentence if he violates his probation.

The prosecutor has defended the plea arrangement with Villareal, saying he was the least culpable of the defendants and the only person able to tell a jury exactly what happened.

Villareal testified that he came upon Mangram and Spencer as they were unsuccessfully trying to pour the gasoline through the mail chute. Because he also wanted cocaine, he said, he fashioned a funnel out of cardboard and helped them get the job done.

Mangram’s and Spencer’s lawyers told Horan on Thursday that they intend to argue that the death penalty is inappropriate for their clients because Villareal got a relatively light sentence.