2 Gang Members Sentenced for Murder of Teen

VAN NUYS —  Calling the crime “cruel beyond belief,” a judge imposed the maximum sentence on two gang members who shot a teen five times and then, as he begged for help, drove a car over him.

San Fernando Superior Court Judge Shari K. Silver first praised Luis Robert Guerrero, 18, for working toward a high school diploma while in jail, then sentenced him to 44 years to life in prison.

He had been convicted as a juvenile of the 1995 murder of 17-year-old Alejandro Hernandez, an alleged gang member. Alfonso Cortez, 19, a co-defendant, was sentenced to 27 years to life.

Prosecutors said that each will be “very old” before parole is possible.

Before Guerrero begins his life sentence, he must serve 16 years for carjacking--a sentence imposed Thursday by Silver for a theft in which the two obtained the vehicle used in the murder.

“The sentences that were handed down were appropriate in every respect,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. John Nantroup Jr. “The crimes showed disregard for the community as well as human life. There were children in the line of fire.”

Both Guerrero and Cortez had extensive arrest records for crimes ranging from drug use to assault.

Hernandez was walking through a residential neighborhood in Arleta on June 18, 1995, on his way to play basketball.

Guerrero and Cortez drove by in a car and opened fire.

Several children playing nearby witnessed the shooting. An 8-year-old boy identified Guerrero and Cortez in court.

A young girl testified that she saw the teenagers drive over Hernandez as he cried for help.

At the sentencing, Guerrero’s father begged Silver for leniency, saying he was close to his son and didn’t believe he could have committed the crime.

Others praised the defendant’s efforts to better himself in jail. But the prosecutors were unimpressed.

The defendants had pulled a carjacking to obtain the auto used in the murder, said Nantroup.

Hernandez “was crying out for help,” said Nantroup. “I don’t know how it can get more vicious than that.”