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# Friends admit to Ashland killing
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/friends-admit-to-ashland-killing/
- Published: 2005-05-17T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T07:10:05.000Z
- Author: Ryan Hyatt
- Tags: Crime, Santa Monica Airport, #archive-import

LAX COURTHOUSE — Two young Santa Monica men pleaded guilty last week to manslaughter for killing a man whose criminal history spans two decades.

Luke David Yeron, 20, and Anthony Gregory Alfaro, 19, were charged with murdering Gabriel Becerrada, 38, who was shot multiple times at 1:20 a.m. on March 7, 2004, on the third floor of a public housing apartment on the 800 block of Ashland Avenue. Both men pleaded guilty last Wednesday to voluntary manslaughter as part of a plea agreement at the Los Angeles Superior Court Airport Courthouse. Attorneys involved in the case said that by accepting the plea agreement, Alfaro, the shooter, avoided a capital murder charge. He faces a minimum of 10 years in prison and the possibility of 11 more for using the firearm.

Yeron will face a three-to 11-year prison term. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James Brandlin is scheduled to sentence both men on June 23.

Becerrada had been released from state prison shortly before his death and was on parole when police found his body outside an apartment door. He had been in and out of jail for drugs, guns, burglary and robbery since 1986, according to the California Department of Corrections. In addition, Alfaro and Yeron’s attorneys allege Becerrada was tied to several murders and was a prominent member of the street gang called the Jokers. However, the victim had never been convicted of any murder charges, according to Department of Corrections

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 17, 2005.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/051705.pdf?ref=smdp.com)