A gang member who shot three people after words were exchanged on a Carlsbad street was sentenced today to 105 years to life in state prison.
Luciano Velasquez, 25, was convicted in November of three felony counts of attempted murder in connection with the shooting in the 3400 block of Madison Street on Oct. 10, 2011.
The victims -- a then-26-year-old man, his then-18-year-old girlfriend and a then-16-year-old friend of theirs -- were each wounded but survived the shooting, according to Carlsbad police. Witnesses told police the victims were walking through the area, known as the Barrio, around 8:30 p.m. when a blue four-door sedan with several people in it pulled up alongside of the victims.
Following an exchange of words between the two groups, Velasquez got out of a passenger seat and opened fire with a black pistol, wounding all three victims in their arms and legs and grazing one of the abdomen. None of the victims had gang ties, according to police. The defendant got back into the vehicle after the gunfire and fled with his companions. He was arrested about a week later in Oceanside.
–City News Service
