ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY PRESS RELEASE
Case # 07CF2786
Date: February 5, 2015
GANG MEMBER CONVICTED AND SENTENCED TO 15 YEARS IN PRISON FOR SHOOTING AND KILLING TEENAGER
*Orange County District Attorney (OCDA) requested the Court to vacate murder conviction
SANTA ANA – A gang member was convicted and sentenced to 15 years in state prison today for killing a teenager in a rival gang. Leonel Vega, 34, pleaded guilty to one felony count of voluntary manslaughter with a sentencing enhancement for the personal use of a firearm.
Circumstances of the Case
Around March 9, 2004, Vega, then-23, and a fellow gang member drove up to Giovani Onofre, his brother Andrew Onofre, 15, and friend Hector Lopez, 19, in a white Lincoln Town Car at a bus stop near Memorial Park in Santa Ana. The defendant exited the vehicle and flashed a criminal street gang hand sign to the victim. The other gang member inside the car asked Giovani Onofre his gang affiliation, and Giovani Onofre responded that he belonged to a rival criminal street gang. Vega got back into the vehicle while the other gang member in the car pulled out a gun. Andrew Onofre and Lopez ran away from the car and hid. Giovani Onofre jumped a fence nearby and kept running. Vega circled Memorial Park in the car, caught up with Giovani Onofre, and shot the victim once in the head. Continue reading