Killer-Gang Member Gets 37 Years to Life
Juan (Slash) Garcia is headed to state prison for 37 years to life for the January, 1992, execution-style slaying of a rival gang member in the parking lot of the Odyssey restaurant, a prosecutor said Thursday.
San Fernando Superior Court Judge Meredith Taylor sentenced Garcia, 22, to the maximum sentence Thursday. Last month, a jury convicted Garcia of first-degree murder for shooting 17-year-old Martin Loziano, Deputy Dist. Atty. John Nantroup said.
The prosecutor said Loziano and two companions were enjoying the view from the hilltop parking lot of the Granada Hills restaurant in the 15600 block of Odyssey Drive when Garcia and two other suspected gang members drove up. An argument broke out, which led to the shooting.
Nantroup said testimony showed that Loziano, already wounded, was hiding behind a palm tree when Garcia found him and fired the fatal shot into his head.
Two others were also injured. Tonya Marie Pineda, 18, was grazed by a bullet, and her brother-in-law, Daniel Pineda, 20, was shot through the thigh. Garcia also was convicted of assaulting Daniel Pineda with a firearm.
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