Trial Nearing End in Double Murder
Jurors will soon decide the fate of a 24-year-old man who allegedly chased down and shot two college students after a party in 1994, thinking they were involved in a fight with his friend earlier that night.
Nathan James Verdugo, 24, faces a possible death sentence if convicted of the apparent mistaken-identity slayings.
The killings occurred in the early hours of Oct. 23, 1994, in front of an El Sereno fire station.
Pasadena City College enrollee and nursing school hopeful Yolanda Navarro, 18, was shot in the head as she curled up on the pavement in a fetal position, barefoot and loudly begging for her life.
Moments earlier, she had seen the gunman shoot her longtime friend, 18-year-old Cal State Los Angeles student Richard Rodriguez, in the leg, then once in the head, leaving him to die while propped up against a storm drain.
Deputy Dist. Atty. Mike Duarte said he expects to complete his case by Wednesday at the latest. Defense attorney George Hernandez said he will present a relatively brief case.
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