Thread: CA: Gang member guilty of killing rival in 2004

Gang member guilty of killing rival in 2004
Jaxon Van Derbeken, Chronicle Staff Writer

Tuesday, July 3, 2007

A 21-year-old Norteño gang member was convicted Monday of second-degree murder in the slaying of the local head of Mara Salvatrucha, a violent Central American gang.

Marcos Reyes Campos had claimed that he shot the victim, Luis Fuentes, out of panic after Fuentes went for Campos' gun at 24th and Hampshire streets on June 26, 2004. Fuentes was shot and killed in front of his 6-year-old son, who testified in the case and recalled no struggle over the weapon.

The jury found Campos guilty of second-degree murder along with weapons and gang allegations that could lead to his serving 50 years to life in prison.

Fuentes, the victim, was described in the trial as the "shot caller'' for the notorious MS-13 gang in San Francisco. Campos acknowledged that such a killing would have bolstered his status in the Norteño gang, but denied he targeted Fuentes for that reason.

Campos had claimed that he fired after Fuentes, who was unarmed, grabbed for the gun.

He said he fired repeatedly -- once in the face, and five more shots -- and then fled out of fear. Prosecutor Pam Pecora-Hansen suggested that Campos had deliberately targeted his victim.

He was caught after a witness saw him dump the gun after following him away from the scene, prosecutors said.

District Attorney Kamala Harris issued a written statement in which she thanked the jury for its finding in case she described as a "cold-blooded murder.''

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.c ... QQ3AM1.DTL

Hey, good deal here. Let 'em kill each other and spare us the expense.

50-years-to-life sentence in gang slaying
Jaxon Van Derbeken, Chronicle Staff Writer

Friday, February 8, 2008

(02-0 17:34 PST San Francisco - -- A 22-year-old Norteño gang member has been sentenced to 50 years to life after being convicted last year of second-degree murder in the slaying of the local head of Mara Salvatrucha, a violent Central American gang, officials said Friday.

Marcos Reyes Campos was convicted in July of murder, weapons and gang charges and was formally sentenced Thursday in San Francisco Superior Court.

Campos had claimed that he shot the victim, Luis Fuentes, out of panic after Fuentes went for Campos' gun at 24th and Hampshire streets on June 26, 2004. Fuentes was shot and killed in front of his 6-year-old son, who testified in the case and recalled no struggle over the weapon.

Fuentes was described in the trial as the "shot caller" for the notorious MS-13 gang in San Francisco.

Campos acknowledged such a killing would have bolstered his status in the Norteño gang, but denied he targeted Fuentes for that reason.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.c ... 8UVBH4.DTL