Three men accused of shooting into an Oceanside park in rival gang territory, killing two teenagers and wounding two others, will face life in prison without the possibility of parole — and not the death penalty — if convicted, a prosecutor announced Tuesday.
Deputy District Attorney Christine Bannon told a judge that the decision by District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis to seek life sentences against Martin Melendrez, Santo Diaz and Michael Zurita came after considering input from the victims' families, individual meetings with each defense attorney and input from the Special Circumstance Committee within the D.A.'s office.
A fourth defendant, Kevin Brizuela, was 17 at the time of the killings and is not eligible for the death penalty. He faces life in prison if convicted.
Melendrez, 23, Diaz, 20, Zurita, 21, and Brizuela, now 19, are charged with murder, attempted murder and special circumstance allegations of multiple murders in the March 2013 shooting that took the lives of 13-year-old Melanie Virgen and 15-year-old Edgar Sanchez. A 17-year-old boy and an 18-year-old man were also wounded.
Authorities said the shooting at Libby Lake Park was gang-related but the victims did not have gang ties.
Police and prosecutors allege the defendants fired on the victims about 9 p.m. near a makeshift memorial for two teens killed previously in the park.
