Five men convicted in the killing of 20-year-old Camille Love received prison sentences Friday ranging from 12 to 75 years – punishment the father of the murdered woman said was not nearly enough.
“If I could, I would execute them myself because I don’t believe they should live another day,” said William Love, struggling to keep his voice steady as he addressed the packed courtroom.
“They have no idea of the suffering they’ve caused,” he continued, “and they just don’t care.”
The five men, all affiliated with a East Side Tacoma street gang called the Lokote Surenos, were convicted for their roles in the Feb. 7, 2010 shooting – a tragic case of mistaken identity.
Gang members shot up Camille Love’s car as she drove down a Tacoma street. Prosecutors said the attack was in retaliation for an earlier gang shooting.
Camille died in the attack. Her 19-year-old brother Josh, a passenger, was wounded but recovered.
Neither Love nor her brother was connected to the earlier shooting, but they were riding in a red car and Josh wore a red jacket, the trademark color of the rival gang.
Saul Mex, 20, the man who actually did the shooting, and Jarrod Messer, 21, both were sentenced to slightly more than 35 years for first-degree murder.
Eduardo Sandoval, the only one of the five not to plead guilty, came out the worst.
Sandoval, convicted by a jury of first-degree murder, first-degree assault and conspiracy to commit murder, was sentenced to more than 75 years.
Sandoval’s sentence was the only one in which Judge Lee went beyond the prosecution’s recommendation. Prosecutors had recommended a total of just over 58 years.
The other two men received lighter sentences. Time Time, 26, who pleaded guilty to one count of leading organized crime, received 12½ years.
Dean Salavea, 25, who also pleaded guilty to leading organized crime, was sentenced to about 11 years.
Two other men charged in the attack, Santiago V. Mederos and Richard Charles Sanchez, remain at large. Authorities believe they are in Mexico.
No one spoke on behalf of any of the five men during Friday’s sentencing hearing.
Four of the five had nothing to say, either. They simply shook their heads and said, “No,” when Lee asked if they had anything to say.
Only Sandoval spoke.
“I made lots of mistakes and chose the wrong path,” he said.
Sandoval, 22, said that, growing up, he had no positive role models.
“I had no one to look up to in life,” he said. “I never knew my dad.”
After the sentencing, Whidbey Island resident Paul Sjunnesen, Camille and Josh’s grandfather, said he was not satisfied with the sentences.
“I wish the penalties could be longer, but that’s the law,” he said.
Sjunnesen said he does not think he will ever recover from losing his granddaughter.
“I’m hoping to learn how to live with the loss, but the pain keeps coming back in waves,” he said.
He bought the car Camille was driving and gave it to her as a present, he said. He picked out the color, he said, never dreaming that it would be a decision with such dire consequences.
Rob Carson: 253-597-8693
rob.carson@thenewstribun.com
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