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Ex-Gang Leader Gets 8 Life Sentences In Murders

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Los Angeles judge has sentenced the former leader of the Asian Boyz street gang to eight consecutive life sentences in prison for eight murders and 10 attempted murders committed in a mid-1990s crime spree.

Judge Robert Perry on Tuesday called 37-year-old Marvin Mercado a clear danger to society and said he was sentencing him to the maximum term.

Along with the eight consecutive life terms without parole, the sentence includes 10 consecutive 15-year to life sentences for the attempted murders, plus an additional 200 years on weapons charges, also to be served consecutively.

Defense attorney Donald Calabria said he would appeal.

Mercado, who showed no emotion during the hearing, committed the killings in 1995 and 1996 then fled to the Philippines. He was arrested in 2007.

(© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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