Gang Member Sentenced To Life Without Possibility Of Parole For Gunning Down Student
SANTA ANA (CBSLA.com) — A gang member who laughed about shooting a phlebotomy student in Santa Ana as he begged for his life was sentenced Friday to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Ricardo Ray Alcala was sentenced to an additional 25 years in prison for the murder of Edgar Sura, who had apparently been mistaken for a gang member.
Co-defendants Isaac Angel Martinez, 27, and Jeamy Beatriz Melendez, 25, accepted plea deals Friday and were sentenced to 26- and six-year prison terms, respectively, Deputy District Attorney Erik Peteresen said.
The judge noted that 26-year-old Alcala returned to the scene of the shooting, where a makeshift memorial was established in Sura's honor.
"It's despicable," Orange County Superior Court Judge Gary Paer said, noting that the defendant was a "frequent flyer in the criminal justice system. This is an awful case. You talk about a vulnerable victim. This the epitome of a vulnerable victim. ... He was at the wrong place at the wrong time."
Sura's father, Francisco Sura, said instead of spending Sundays playing soccer with his son, he spends time with him in the cemetery.
"They have destroyed my family," Sura said of his son's killers.
Alcala and his gang were prowling a Santa Ana neighborhood for rivals Oct. 19, 2012, when they saw Sura riding his bicycle.
Melendez, who was a "hood rat" for Alcala's gang and was in a romantic relationship with him, testified for the prosecution, Petersen said.
Sura was pedaling through the neighborhood shortly after midnight when he was confronted in a "gang hit-up," which involves asking the target which gang they belong to, Petersen said. Sura, who was studying to become a phlebotomist, was not involved in any gang, the prosecutor said.
Sura denied any gang affiliation and begged for his life, according to Petersen. The victim was shot in the back as he ran away, and he kept running "for quite some distance" until he finally collapsed in front of a home and bled to death, the prosecutor said.
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