Crime & Safety
Duo Gets 40 Years for Random Murder of Echo Park Man
Two gang members were sentenced for randomly chasing and gunning down an Echo Park man five years ago.
Los Angeles, CA - Two gang members were sentenced today to 40 years to life in state prison for the murder of a 30-year-old man who was shot while being chased on Sunset Boulevard in the Echo Park area of Los Angeles just over five years ago.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Stephen A. Marcus said Michael David "did nothing to warrant the reaction" by Peter Michael Lopez, 27, and Hakop Jacko Sardaryan, 26, noting that the victim was "actually trying to be friendly to the defendants" and was "running away when he was shot" by Lopez on May 7, 2011.
David was on Sunset Boulevard near Echo Park Street just after midnight when he was confronted. Authorities said the victim lived nearby and was not a gang member.
Lopez and Sardaryan were convicted Oct. 19 of second-degree murder for David's shooting death, with jurors finding true a gang allegation against both defendants and an allegation that Lopez used a gun to commit the murder.
Jurors also found Lopez guilty of illegal possession of a firearm, with the judge tacking on an additional two-year prison sentence for that offense.
A third defendant, Jeffrey Cardona, 28, pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter on the eve of the trial and is awaiting sentencing.
The victim's mother, Jeanne David, told the judge, "What I do know is this was a savage, random act of violence."
She said it seemed to have been carried out with a deep-rooted display of cowardice.
"He didn't even see it coming," she said of her son's killing. "It has broken our hearts."
She said her family is "forever changed," but that "we will still be able to carry on."
Veronica Gottardi, the mother of David's young daughter, told the defendants, "Your senseless actions in May of 2011 have led you to where you are now ... Ultimately, you're paying the price for taking his life."
She told the judge, "We're beyond blessed to have justice served."
Sardaryan and Cardona were arrested in 2011 and have remained behind bars since then. Lopez fled to Mexico after the shooting, and was returned to Los Angeles County in 2014.
City News Service/Photo: Shutterstock