Gunman Who Killed Girl, 16, in Cross-Fire Is Sentenced : Courts: He and an accomplice, called gang ‘wanna-bes,’ receive up to life in prison after plea from victim’s mother. Their fathers apologize in court.

VAN NUYS — Following pleas from the mother, sister and brother of a 16-year-old girl who was killed in the cross-fire of a shooting near Cleveland High School, the man who fired the fatal shot was sentenced Friday to 29 years to life in prison.

Oscar Alberto Prado, 20, of Northridge was sentenced for second-degree murder in the death of Rocio Delgado, who had been walking home from the Reseda school. Authorities called the shooting a gang-related incident.

His accomplice, Aureliano Vasquez, 19, of Reseda was sentenced to 16 years to life in prison. Both Prado and Vasquez were also convicted of attempted murder and two counts of assault with a deadly weapon for the gunshot wounding of a 17-year-old girl who was near Delgado and the wounding of a 16-year-old boy, whom the two men were chasing. The two men also beat up a 15-year-old boy with a pipe.

San Fernando Superior Court Judge Shari Kreissler Silver ruled the two men could serve the first few years of their sentence in a California Youth Authority facility to take advantage of the educational programs offered there.

“This crime is outrageous and caused unbelievable suffering, but I do believe that educational programs for a limited time will be beneficial,” she said. “They are both still going to be spending a long time in custody.”

Vasquez’s attorney, Ira Saltzman, had argued for a lesser sentence because his client did not fire any shots. Prado’s attorneys, Jonathan G. Ash and Norman L. Goodfriend, also argued for leniency, arguing that their client was a “follower, not a leader,” and that he fired the gun only because he thought he was about to be attacked with a knife.

Deputy Dist. Atty. John F. Nantroup Jr. had sought a maximum sentence of 35 years to life for Prado and 27 years to life for Vasquez.

The fathers of both men apologized to the Delgado family, and said their sons were not bad but deserved punishment for their actions.

The victim’s mother, Inocencia Diaz, told the judge her daughter had been hospitalized from the ages of 2 to 6.

“I thanked God when he didn’t take her away from me,” Diaz said through a Spanish interpreter. “These murderers don’t know what they have taken away from me. They have taken her life and my life.

“Their families are asking you to return them to them, but who will return my daughter to me?”

Although the boys the two men attacked were gang members, during the trial it was determined that Vasquez and Prado were not in a gang, but rather “wanna-be” members.

The Feb. 22 incident began shortly after 3 p.m. when Vasquez, Prado and two brothers--Edward and George Torres--were driving near Cleveland High School allegedly looking for a fight with members of the Blythe Street gang.

They spotted a 15-year-old boy and asked him where he was from. When he responded Blythe Street, three of the four got out of the car and began beating him. When a friend of the 15-year-old ran to help, George Torres allegedly pulled a gun from the car.

When George Torres could not release the safety on the gun, Prado asked for the weapon, released the safety and then began shooting.

The Torres brothers, who were 16 and 17 at the time of the shooting, are being tried as adults on similar charges. Their trial is pending.