2 men charged in deaths of 2 girls
Two men were charged with murder Thursday for their alleged role in a botched taxicab robbery that ended when their co-conspirators, two teenage girls, were ejected from the taxi and killed, authorities said.
Hector Jasso, 20, and Daniel Salvador Martinez, 21, were charged with two counts of murder and the special allegation of personal use of a firearm. If convicted, both could receive the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Alexous Ann Sandoval and Daisy Orozco, both 17-year-old Los Angeles residents, hailed a cab early Tuesday while the two defendants trailed in their own vehicle, prosecutors said.
When the cab stopped, the two defendants allegedly pulled up behind the taxi and Jasso pulled a gun on the driver. Jasso allegedly snatched a GPS device from the taxi’s dashboard and shouted out his gang affiliation, police said.
The driver, Javier Hernandez, 40, sped off with the two defendants tailing him, prosecutors said. One of the girls still in the cab used a box cutter to repeatedly slice Hernandez in the face, causing him to lose control of the vehicle and crash.
Hernandez survived the accident, but the two girls -- who were not wearing seat belts -- were ejected and killed.
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