Dennis RomeroThree West L.A. gangsters were charged today in connection with a fatal shooting in Santa Monica.
The violence was part of an ongoing rivalry between Santa Monica 13 gang, to which the two victims belonged, we were told, and Sotel (for the Sawtelle community) in West L.A:
West L.A. residents Christopher Chonan Osumi, 19 (pictured left) and Meliton Lorenzo Lopez, 23 (center), were charged with one count each of suspicion of murder and suspicion of attempted murder with gang allegations, the District Attorney's office stated this afternoon.
Prosecutors say Osumi pulled the trigger, killing 29-year-old Gil Verastegui, before walking to a car that drove away. Police say it happened before 8:30 a.m. Tuesday in an alley in the rear of 1759 15th St. Another victim was critically wounded, cops said.
The D.A.'s office is asking for $3 million bail for those two suspects. Noah Jason Farris (pictured right), 32, was charged as an accomplice in the crime; prosecutors are requesting $500,000 bail for him.
The trio was captured — two of them allegedly ran — in the 1500 block of Armacost Avenue in the heart of Sotel turf in West L.A., according to Santa Monica police.
The attack shook a community already affected by a Sunday gang shooting and the rampage shooter who took five lives in the same neighborhood last week.
Osumi and Lopez face life behind bars if convicted, prosecutors say; Farris could see as many as seven years in prison.
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