Three Get Life Sentences for Killing Man Trying to Help Grandfather

Three men convicted of fatally shooting a 24-year-old man who came to his grandfather's aid in a robbery were sentenced today to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Evin Adonis Ortiz, 25, Rene Ubaldo Ramirez, 32, and Edwin Alexander Bonilla, 30, were convicted of first-degree murder in the death of Danilo Estuerdo Morales.

In their Nov. 1 verdict, jurors also found the three guilty of the attempted murder of Morales's 68-year-old grandfather, Manuel Flores, and second-degree robbery. The panel also found true the special circumstance allegation of murder during the commission of a robbery.

On the evening of Jan. 9, 2012, the three men jumped Flores and robbed him after he parked his car behind a relative's home in the 8100 block of Coldwater Canyon Avenue in North Hollywood. Flores screamed for help as the men ran off, and one of the robbers fired a shot at him, but missed.

Morales heard his grandfather's scream and chased after the robbers as they ran to their car. When Morales caught up, Ramirez, firing through the rear windshield, shot him in the head.

Deputy District Attorney Scott Marcus with the Hardcore Gang Division said the three defendants followed Flores home from a store a few miles away after noticing a gold chain around his neck.

--City News Service