Three convicted of murdering college student in 2013

Three men were convicted in late January of murder in the death of a 21-year-old college student in 2013, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.

Jonathan Joseph Gonzales, 30, Roque Solis, 32, and Anthony Aaron Gabriel, 27, were each convicted Jan. 30 of murder, attempted murder and four counts of assault with a firearm in the slaying of Gabriel Soto, prosecutors said in a news release.

Gun and gang allegations were found true, and Gonzales was also found guilty of being a felon in possession of a firearm. The three defendants, who are all Latino, each face two consecutive sentences of life in prison when they are set to be sentenced March 26.

Soto, a student at Lincoln University in Missouri, was in East Los Angeles visiting with high school friends at a garage party when a man began shooting at them,  detectives previously told The Times.

Gonzales, Solis and Gabriel were looking to shoot a witness in an unrelated gang case, according to prosecutors.

While Gabriel waited in their vehicle, Gonzalez and Solis got out, crept up on the group and opened fire at the gathering.

Soto was not the intended target and was taken to a hospital where he died. Soto was studying electrical engineering in college.

Contact the Homicide Report. Follow @nicolesantacruz and @latimeshomicide on Twitter.