LOS ANGELES - A jury deliberated less than two hours last week before convicting a 19-year-old Los Angeles man of murder, attempted murder and other felony charges in the August 2011 fatal shooting of a pizza deliveryman who was driving home after work.Jose Beltran, 19, faces numerous life terms in state prison for the killing and other crimes. Sentencing was scheduled for Nov. 1 by Superior Court Judge Clifford L. Klein, who presided over the trial. Juan David Vazquez Loma, 25, was driving himself and two co-workers home on Aug. 7, 2011, when he was shot in the head while in the 1400 block of Silver Lake Boulevard. Beltran allegedly pulled up alongside Loma's vehicle and fired, then fled. Beltran was arrested on an unrelated gun charge by Los Angeles police on Aug. 19 and linked to the murder. The jury convicted Beltran of one count of second-degree murder, two counts of attempted murder and one count each of carrying a loaded firearm not registered to him and shooting at an occupied vehicle. The jury, however, found not true allegations that the crimes were connected to street gang activity and that the attempted murders were willful, deliberate and premeditated.

********** Published: October 4, 2012 - Volume 11 - Issue 25