Local News in Brief : Gang Members Get Prison
Two reputed gang members who had pleaded guilty to a 1986 armed assault on Los Angeles County Deputy Dist. Atty. Linda Bloxsom were sentenced Friday to state prison terms.
Richard Barela, 28, of La Puente was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Bernard Kamins to four years in prison in addition to the eight months he already has served in jail. Joaquin Serna-Vera, 25, of El Monte, received an eight-year prison sentence.
The two pleaded guilty in December to assault with a firearm. They were accused of driving to Bloxsom’s Diamond Bar home in December, 1986, pointing a gun at her and issuing a threat. At the time, Bloxsom was prosecuting Barela’s brother, Arturo, in connection with a gang-related rape and kidnaping. Arturo Barela, 39, was sentenced last year to 52 years in prison.
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