Two Los Angeles-area gang members were found guilty of first-degree murder on Monday for shooting to death a mentally disabled teen over his red shoes and shirt — a color affiliated with a rival gang. AFP
LOS ANGELES, United States — Two Los Angeles-area gang members were found guilty of first-degree murder on Monday for killing a mentally disabled teen over his red shoes and shirt — a color affiliated with a rival gang.
According to the prosecution, 19-year-old Tavin Price was gunned down in front of his mother near a car wash in the south Los Angeles neighborhood of Hyde Park.
Kanasho Johns, 29 and Kevin Deon Johnson, 26, both members of the NeighborHood Crips gang, whose color is blue, were convicted by a jury for the May 2015 murder.
Johns, who fired the four rounds that killed Price, was also convicted of felony possession of a firearm.
A third suspect in the case, Dwight Kevin Smith, 31, earlier pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and faces 12 years in prison.
Price was shot as he stood by his mother’s car.
“Tavin Price was murdered because of gang pride, because the gang pride was more important than Tavin Price’s life,” prosecutor Bobby Zoumberakis told the eight-man, four-woman jury.
He said Price was confronted by Smith, who identified himself as a gang member and asked about his gang affiliation: “Why are you wearing all that red? Where are you from?”
A family member who was with Price during the confrontation testified that she told Smith that the young man was not a gang member and explained that he was “slow.”
Shortly thereafter, Price was shot as he stood by his mother’s car.
Los Angeles has been described as the “gang capital” of the United States, with more than 450 active gangs operating in the city, according to the Los Angeles police department.
Johns and Johnson face up to life in prison at their sentencing on November 30. Smith is to be sentenced at a later date.
Several family members and friends of the victim who were present at the courthouse on Monday wore red shoes and jackets in a sign of defiance.
Los Angeles has been described as the “gang capital” of the United States, with more than 450 active gangs operating in the city, according to the Los Angeles police department.
In the last three years, 491 homicides have been attributed to gang activity, police say. CBB