Times coverage: Gang members sentenced for infant's murder

Two 18th Street gang members were sentenced to life in prison Friday for the 2007 shooting death of a 23-day-old baby in MacArthur Park.

On Sept. 15, Luis Garcia, was in his stroller being pushed by his mother near outdoor vendors close to 6th Street and Burlington Avenue when three gang members walked up and started shooting.

Authorities said the men were targeting a vendor who refused to pay "rent."

Luis was hit by a stray bullet and taken to California Medical Center, where he died half an hour later. Three others suffered injuries that were not life-threatening.

Last week, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler sentenced Juan Pablo Murillo, a 34-year-old Latino and who was second in command of the gang, to life without possibility of parole and another 114 years to life in prison. Guadalupe Torres Rangel, a 42-year-old Latino and an associate, also was was sentenced to life without possibility of parole plus 107 years to life in prison.

In addition to finding the two guilty of first-degree murder, the jury determined the shooting was carried out to further a gang.

Sentencing for the admitted shooter, Giovanni Macedo, a 20-year-old Latino, is scheduled Aug. 31.

Times staff writer Richard Winton has more on the story: Two gang members get life in prison for killing infant near MacArthur