Jury Calls for Death Penalty for 18th Street Gang Member
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A Los Angeles Superior Court jury has recommended the death penalty for an 18th Street gang member convicted of murdering two men after he lost some cocaine.
The jury deliberated for two days before returning Monday with the death penalty recommendation for Frank Becerra, 26, who was convicted on two counts of first-degree murder for strangling Herman Jackson and James Harding at a downtown Los Angeles hotel on the day after Christmas in 1994.
Judge J.D. Smith will formally sentence Becerra Oct. 31.
Becerra was on a drug binge at the Pacific Grand Hotel when he lost some of his cocaine, prosecutors said. Harding found the drugs and returned them to Becerra, who was furious because some was apparently missing.
After threatening for several days to kill Harding, prosecutors said, Becerra went into his hotel room with some friends and tied Harding up with Jackson, who happened to be in the room. Becerra then strangled both men with electrical cords.
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