An East Los Angeles man, Anthony Velasquez, has received a sentence of 150 years to life in prison for committing a series of brutal murders in his neighborhood.
The 35-year-old was found guilty by a jury of three counts of first-degree murder following a four-year killing spree that prosecutors say was driven by Velasquez’s feelings of disrespect towards his victims.
The jury deliberated for approximately 5.5 hours before reaching their verdict on Wednesday.
In addition to the murder charges, jurors confirmed that Velasquez had personally used a firearm in the killings of Jesse Avalos on February 11, 2014; Eduardo Robles on July 6, 2015; and Amanda Nicole Lopez on April 22, 2018.
Superior Court Judge Ronald Coen handed down the sentence on Friday, highlighting the severity of Velasquez’s actions.
The case was also linked to his father, Manuel Velasquez, 55, who pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter related to one of the killings and received a lengthy prison sentence of 11 years and eight months.
Deputy District Attorney Catherine Mariano provided insights into the prosecutor’s perspective during the trial, emphasizing that Anthony Velasquez had “targeted, ambushed, and killed” the victims based on perceived disrespect.
She urged jurors to consider the physical evidence and incriminating statements made by Velasquez during an undercover operation to solidify that he was responsible for these heinous acts.
Defense attorney Leslie Ann Boyce, on the other hand, argued that the evidence did not connect Velasquez definitively to the crimes.
She described the killings as “heinous” and “tragic,” but maintained that convicting an innocent person would be a greater tragedy, insisting that the prosecution failed to prove their case convincingly.
In her rebuttal, Deputy District Attorney Negin Mostadim firmly countered Boyce’s assertions, claiming that additional evidence confirmed Velasquez’s involvement in all three murders.
The victims, including Avalos, 33, were found in different locations, each falling victim to Velasquez’s violent spree.
Avalos was discovered shot to death in the driver’s seat of his SUV in an area near the Santa Ana (5) Freeway, while Robles, 38, was shot in the driveway of a residence near the Calvary Cemetery.
Lopez was tragically killed by a masked assailant inside a tent at a homeless encampment, in a seemingly random act of violence.
Both Anthony Velasquez and his father were arrested in September 2021 and have remained in custody since.
This case highlights a grim chapter in East Los Angeles, underlining the severe consequences of actions motivated by vendettas and disrespect.
image source from：theeastsiderla
