CC gangster found guilty of murder

A Culver City gang member was convicted earlier this month of killing two unarmed teens in Penmar Park in Venice three years ago.

Michael Anthony Mariscal, 22, of Culver City was found guilty on Nov. 12 of two counts of first-degree murder, three counts of attempted murder and one count each of street terrorism and possession of a firearm by a felon.

Mariscal, who prosecutors say is a member of the Culver City Boyz gang, killed Salvador Diaz, 18, and Alan Mateo, 19, on June 22, 2011 in the park and a then Venice High School sophomore was also wounded by a gunshot to the leg.

Although it was a capital murder case with special circumstances, prosecutors will not be seeking the death penalty.

Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney Eugene Hanrahan of the Hardcore Gang Unit said notoriety was the apparent motive in the murder case. “That’s what I argued before the jury,” Hanrahan said.

Mariscal faces two life sentences without the possibility of parole. He will return to court for sentencing on Jan. 14 at the Los Angeles Airport Courthouse, where the case was tried.