Pair get 10 years, probation in Ashland killing
LAX COURTHOUSE — Two young Santa Monicans who pleaded guilty to manslaughter charges escaped lengthy prison time and will get a second chance at “normal” adult lives.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James Brandlin sentenced Luke David Yeron, 20, and Anthony Gregory Alfaro, 19, on June 3 for their involvement in the murder of Gabriel Becerrada.
Yeron and Alfaro were charged with killing the 38-year-old Becerrada, who was shot multiple times at 1:20 a.m. on Sunday, March 7, 2004, on the third floor of a public housing unit on the 800 block of Ashland Avenue, near Lincoln Boulevard.
Both men pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter charges as part of an agreement made in May at the Los Angeles Superior Court Airport Courthouse. Attorneys involved in the case said by accepting the plea agreement Alfaro, the shooter, avoided a capital murder charge in which he could have faced life in prison without the possibility of parole, said Carlo Spiga, his attorney.
Instead, Alfaro will serve 10 years in California state prison. Typically, severe felonies will require criminals to serve 85 percent of their sentences, Spiga said.
Yeron, Alfaro’s friend, faced a three-to 11-year prison sentence for his involvement, but will instead serve probation for five years, according to Robin Yanes, his attorney.
“It went better than you can believe with Luke getting probation and Anthony the minimum under the deal, which was 10 years,” Yanes said. “It was absolutely wonderful the way it went. The judge did justice, and these guys will have a second chance at a normal life.”
Becerrada had been recently released from state prison 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’s and Yeron’s attorneys allege Becerrada was tied to several murders and was a prominent member of the Jokers, a street gang, although he had never been convicted.
Sandra Alfaro, 35, Becerrada’s girl-friend and mother of Anthony Alfaro, was arrested by Santa Monica police within days of the murder, along with her son and Yeron, his friend.
Sandra Alfaro was charged as an accessory to the murder. She has since been credited for an 11-month prison stay and was released on Jan. 31, 2005, after pleading no contest to the accessory charge.
Spiga said when Becerrada was released from prison he took up residence at Alfaro’s apartment, where he used PCP and may have intended to sell drugs.
Spiga told the Daily Press earlier this year that Becerrada was a PCP addict acting psychotically and threatened to cut up Sandra “into little pieces, and they won’t find ya until they smell ya.”
At the time of his murder, Becerrada had PCP in his blood and a bag of cocaine in his rectum, according to the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office.
Spiga said Anthony Alfaro was fearful of his mother’s life and stole Becerrada’s 9-millimeter handgun, at which point Becerrada threatened the mother and son’s lives. Anthony Alfaro and Yeron went to Sandra Alfaro’s apartment to confront Becerrada, according to Spiga. A confrontation ensued and Becerrada was shot three times in the head.
Larry Droeger, the Los Angeles deputy district attorney who prosecuted the case on behalf of the people, confirmed there were mitigating factors in the murder that contributed to the DA’s office agreeing to a plea settlement.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 16, 2005. Read the original PDF.