GANGLAND GODFATHER

Alexis Aguilar, 19, was sentenced Thursday by Judge Timothy Roberts to consecutive 25-years-to-life sentences for the first-degree murder of 29-year-old Jose Mexicano. He was given an additional six years for using a firearm during the commission of the crime for the benefit of the Norteno street gang. Aguilar was found guilty by a jury last month in the March 4, 2007, slaying of Mexicano in the notorious Acosta Plaza apartment complex. He was 17 at the time of the shooting, but was tried as an adult. It was the second time Aguilar was tried for the murder after an earlier jury deadlocked. Prosecutor David Rabow acknowledged the length of the sentence for a teenager would attract attention, but argued that it was warranted given the heinous nature of the crime. According to testimony, Mexicano was walking through the complex with his son when they were approached by a man with a hooded sweatshirt pulled over his forehead and mouth. The assailant ordered Mexicano to take off his blue ha...

Christopher Marenco, 20, showed no emotion as the verdict was read in court. The jury of eight women and four men decided that Marenco murdered 27-year-old Rodolfo Hernandez, gunning him down on Jan. 1 last year. Norteno gang member accused of killing a man for being a gang dropout was found guilty of first-degree murder Wednesday. He now faces life in prison without parole.Norteno street gang member Christopher Marenco was found guilty Wednesday of the 2008 slaying of Rodolfo Hernandez.Although Marenco was expressionless, families on both sides in the audience shed tears and cried. Bernard Ruiz, the victim's stepfather, grasped his wife Frances and son Manuel by the shoulders as Marenco's fate was revealed. "Oh yes!" Ruiz yelled. He then placed his face in his hands and began crying uncontrollably.Meanwhile, Marenco's mother wept quietly, while other members put their heads down and also cried.Wearing long hair and a white collared shirt, Marenco seemed unmoved b...