Gang member convicted of second-degree murder

MURRIETA - A San Jacinto gang member who gunned down a man wrongly associated with a rival gang was sentenced today to 40 years to life in prison.

Ade Jessie Warren, 20, was convicted of second-degree murder in the Sept. 8, 2011, slaying of 29-year-old Fernando Villarin, along with a sentence- enhancing allegation of participating in a gang crime in which a gun was used, leading to death.

According to the prosecution, Villarino was among a group of men targeted by the defendant in the 400 block of Santa Rosa Street in San Jacinto.

Warren and fellow members of the ''L Squad'' gang mistakenly assumed that the victim and his friends were members of the rival ''San Ja'' gang and went after them, according to Deputy District Attorney Tim Cross.

He said that on the day of the attack, witnesses reported ''numerous'' instances in which L Squad associates had randomly engaged in verbal altercations with Hispanic males along the corridor where the fatal shooting ultimately happened.

According to sheriff's investigators, the two gangs have been at odds for years. The L Squad is an all-black gang, while San Ja is entirely Hispanic. Innocent bystanders are often victimized, Cross said, citing Villarino's death as a tragic example.

The prosecutor said Warren confronted the victim and at least three other men on the street after dark, pulling a handgun and opening fire without provocation, striking Villarino in the head and arm, killing him instantly.

Warren fled the area but was immediately identified by investigators based on one distinct feature -- a blonde streak in his hair -- that all the witnesses spotted and anti-gang personnel were familiar with, according to Cross.

For nearly eight months, the defendant eluded authorities but was finally captured in Rancho Cucamonga.

Warren has a prior conviction from 2009, when he was 16, for illegal possession of a firearm, according to trial testimony.