Gang member gets 24 years in death of rival
A Costa Mesa gang member was sentenced to 24 years and four months in prison Friday for his role in killing a rival Santa Ana gang member.
Jesus Ramon Rojo, 27, pleaded guilty in September to killing Julio Cesar Guerrero-Elias, 20.
Guerrero-Elias was dropping a friend off in an alley when he was shot. The victim then drove several blocks injured before crashing into a parked car in the 1100 block of Paularino Avenue.
He later died of his injuries at Orange Coast Memorial Hospital, according to archived reports of the shooting.
The crime was the second gang-related shooting in April 2006 — a year that saw heightened gang-related violence.
On Sept. 2, Rojo pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and street terrorism with sentencing enhancements for use of a firearm and membership in a criminal street gang.
Three other people were arrested in May 2006 for being accessories in the crime: Jose Luis Pena, Jose Julio Garcilazo and a minor who was 17 at the time.
On top of the sentence handed down in Orange County Superior Court in Santa Ana, Rojo was ordered to pay $4,915 in restitution, as well as $200 in fines, according to court spokeswoman Gwen Vieau.
Twitter: @lawilliams30
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