Gang member found guilty in EPA shooting

A jury found an admitted Mountain View gang member guilty of three counts of attempted murder in San Mateo County Superior Court on Wednesday for a December 2006 East Palo Alto shooting that injured a pregnant woman and two men, Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said.

Cruz Magana Valencia, 23, was convicted of three counts of attempted murder with enhancements for criminal street gang activity and the use of a firearm resulting in great bodily injury, Wagstaffe said. He was also found guilty of one count residential burglary and one count attempted robbery.

On the night of Dec. 22, 2006, Valencia and two other men burst into the home of a 23-year-old pregnant woman, her boyfriend and a male roommate on West Bayshore Road, according to East Palo Alto police.

Valencia then shot all three, reportedly in retaliation for an argument over a large amount of methamphetamine, according to Deputy District Attorney Joe Cannon. One of the male victims is a former member of a rival gang, Cannon said.

All three shooting victims were hospitalized and survived, as did the woman’s unborn child.

The jury returned the guilty verdict on its second day of deliberations, Wagstaffe said.

Valencia faces over 100 years in prison, as each attempted murder charge carries a sentence of 32 years to life in prison, according to Wagstaffe.

Judge Barbara Mallach is scheduled to sentence Valencia Nov. 12 at 9 a.m., Wagstaffe said. Valencia remains in custody on no-bail status.

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