Ex-Marine Guilty in Murder of 2 Servicemen
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A San Bernardino County Superior Court jury has found a former U.S. Marine guilty of murdering two fellow Marines over a drug deal.
Demitrius McClendon, 21, was stationed at Twentynine Palms Marine Base in November 2003 when he and fellow Marine Vernon Walker were arrested on suspicion of fatally shooting Julio Chavarrias-Vargas and Angel Wathen, both 22, in Rancho Cucamonga. The bodies of Chavarrias-Vargas and Wathen were later discovered inside a burning car in Twentynine Palms.
McClendon was convicted Thursday after a six-week trial; his sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 4. Walker, the alleged gunman, is being tried separately on the two counts of first-degree murder and is due back in court for a hearing Feb. 24.
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