Man found guilty of 2015 double murder of brothers at East Los Angeles park
A jury has found a Bell Gardens man guilty of murder in the 2015 shooting deaths of two brothers in East Los Angeles, according to Los Angeles County district attorney’s records.
Pedro Vasquez, a 24-year-old Latino, was convicted Sept. 22 of two counts of second-degree murder for killing Antonio Aguilar, 33 and his brother Juan Valenti Aguilar, 28, at Ruben Salazar Park on Nov. 22, 2015.
A news release from the district attorney’s office said the jury also found it true that Vasquez used a handgun in the killings.
Vasquez is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 8 in the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in downtown Los Angeles.
The Aguilar brothers were in the park about 11 a.m. when Vasquez and two other people came up to speak with them, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s investigators. Witnesses reported that as the men were talking, Vasquez pulled out a gun and fired at the brothers.
Antonio was pronounced dead at the scene at 11:31 a.m. Juan died at a nearby hospital about half an hour later.
Investigators originally suspected that the killing was gang related but prosecutors did not pursue a gang allegation about Vasquez. Deputy Dist. Atty. Miriam Avalos declined to discuss the motive until after Vasquez’s sentencing.
Contact the Homicide Report. Follow @latimeshomicide on Twitter.
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