A 51-year-old man was sentenced today to 27 years to life in prison for the shooting death of another man in an alleyway more than two years ago.
Richard Young was convicted by a jury in February of second-degree murder, one count of evading a peace officer and two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Jurors also found true the special allegation that Young used a firearm in the commission of the crime, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
During a sentencing hearing Tuesday morning, Rosa Rivera stood in front of the courtroom and briefly expressed the pain she’s experienced since the death of her son, 40-year-old Juan Moreno.
“Este dolor es tan grande que no se lo deseo a nadie,” Rivera said. “This pain is so large that I don’t wish it on anyone.”
“Solo deseo que se haga justicia,” she added. “I only wish for justice to be served.”
Police say Young killed Moreno, whom he knew, during an altercation in an alleyway near Seventh Street and Cerritos Avenue on the afternoon of Aug. 4, 2020. Young, according to prosecutors, was pistol-whipping Moreno, when the gun discharged and struck the 40-year-old in the chest.
Young fled the area that afternoon before officers arrived, although he was later arrested in October after leading police on a brief pursuit through Long Beach’s Hellman neighborhood, crashing the vehicle and then attempting to flee on foot, authorities said.
He’s remained jailed without bail ever since, arrest records show.