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Ex-LA Gang Boss Convicted Of 8 Murders

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The former boss of a Los Angeles street gang has been convicted of eight murders and 10 attempted murders.

The district attorney's office says 37-year-old Marvin Mercado was convicted Wednesday on all but two counts. He remains jailed without bail.

Next week, jurors will begin deliberating whether to recommend life in prison or the death penalty.

Prosecutors say Mercado, who led the Asian Boyz gang, was involved in 1995 and 1996 attacks in the San Fernando and San Gabriel valleys.

The victims included ambushed gang rivals, a man killed in a home-invasion robbery and three men who were mistaken for gang enemies.

Seven people received life sentences for the crimes in 1999 but Mercado remained at large until 2007, when he was found living in the Philippines under an assumed name.

(© Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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