Calif. mom who drove son to gang fight convicted

[October 07, 2008]  LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) -- A mother was convicted of second-degree murder Monday for driving her teenage son and his friends to a fatal fight with a rival gang.

Eva Daley, 31, had been charged with first-degree murder but the jury opted for the lesser conviction after deliberating for more than two days. She faces 15 years to life in prison when she is sentenced Nov. 4.

Her co-defendant, Heriberto Garcia, was also convicted of second-degree murder for fatally stabbing 13-year-old Jose Cano near a Long Beach skate park in June 2007. Garcia, one of the passengers in Daley's vehicle, is 17 but was tried as an adult.

Five other teenagers, including Daley's son, admitted a manslaughter charge in juvenile court and could remain in state custody until age 25. The case of another youth is still pending in juvenile court.

Daley's defense attorney, Javier Ramirez, argued that Daley didn't know what was going to occur when the boys, including her eldest son, piled out of her vehicle at the park. Daley testified last week that she didn't know anyone was killed until she was arrested the next day.

Prosecutors said Cano's slaying could have been retaliation for the stabbing of Daley's son about six months earlier or for an incident earlier that night, when gang members threw flares toward at her apartment complex.

Deputy District Attorney John Lonergan said Garcia stabbed Cano nine times.

Garcia's attorney, Jack Fuller, told jurors that the prosecution had not proven premeditation and deliberation or intent to kill.

Garcia, who faces 15 years to life in prison, is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 28.

[Associated Press]

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