SANTA CRUZ — Three of the men who took part in a 2014 gang-related shooting that left a man and a 4-year-old girl dead have been given prison sentences, jail records show.
Gilberto Ponciano, 28, Roberto Ramirez, 26, and Juan Cruz, 24, were sentenced on Feb. 23 to eight years in prison after being convicted of assault with a deadly weapon and voluntary manslaughter. They were also convicted of promoting a criminal street gang, jail records show.
Prosecutors have dropped first-degree murder charges against the three, jail records show.
According to police, Michael Escobar, now 34, shot Ramon Rendon several times in front of the Valley Inn on the 900 block of Main Street in Watsonville on Oct. 10, 2014.
Rendon, 33, reportedly was the intended target, but stray bullets entered a nearby business, striking a 4-year-old girl, who was later pronounced dead.
The men, who were part of a Norteño criminal street gang, reportedly went to the hotel to confront Rendon, who was a dropout of a rival gang.
Rendon lived at the hotel, where he was a maintenance worker.
Witnesses said they saw a man approach and shoot Rendon once as he tried to run away.
Rendon then tripped and fell, and the shooter “calmly” approached and shot Rendon five more times, witnesses said.
Police believe that Marcos Robles, 25, was with Escobar during the shooting.
Also arrested were Jimmy Espinoza and Amado Hernandez. Espinoza had a Feb. 28 court date. Hernandez is due in court on May 15.
Robles and Escobar are scheduled to be in court on April 4. Their trials are expected to begin later this year.
Santa Cruz County Assistant District Attorney Johanna Schonfield did not return a call seeking comment as of press time. Ponciano’s attorney Tom Wallraff, Ramirez’s attorney Lisa McCamey and Cruz’s attorney George Gigarjian also did not respond to a request for comment.
