Gang Members Get Death Sentences in 3 Killings
Two La Puente gang members were sentenced to death Friday in the 1996 killings of a 68-year-old Hacienda Heights grocer and two teenagers in Covina.
Pomona Superior Court Judge Robert Armstrong said John Anthony Gonzales, 22, and Michael Soliz, 24, acted viciously in the slayings, according to a court official.
Gonzales received the death penalty in the shooting death of Lester Eaton, who operated the Hillgrove Market for four decades until he was killed in January 1996 during a robbery.
Soliz was sentenced to death for fatally shooting Elijah Skyles, 15, and Gary Price, 17, three months later at a service station. Prosecutors said Soliz and his friend mistakenly shot the two teenagers.
“The sentences were justified given the evidence,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Doug Sortino. “These are brutal murderers who showed no remorse.” The defendants showed no reaction to the sentencing, he said.
A jury convicted them of murder earlier this year but deadlocked over whether to sentence them to death.
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