On March 12, 2003 in Ivanhoe, Mariano Diaz, who was a 17 year-old Sureno gang member of Ivanhoe, shot at two rival gang members for coming into his turf (Ivanhoe). The victims were Nortenos and brothers; they went to Ivanhoe to pick up the older brother's girlfriend from work at a beauty salon.

The younger brother was wearing red, which signified the color of the Nortenos. When the older brother?s girlfriend was not ready to leave, she asked the victims to go to the store next door to buy her a soda. Diaz, wearing his gang colors (blue), confronted the victims and told the older brother that they were "out of bounds." The older brother tried to tell Diaz that they did not want a confrontation, but Diaz refused to listen and said he would wait for them outside the store.

Diaz and a fellow Sureno gang member then followed the victims to their car. As the victims were trying to get into the car to leave, Diaz pulled out his handgun and shot at the victims multiple times, hitting the younger brother in the neck and arm, while missing the older brother. Diaz fled the scene and evaded arrest for roughly two and a half years.

The jury trial was conducted in January, 2007. The jury found Mariano Diaz guilty as charged, which included two counts of attempted murder, along with the gun and gang special allegations. On March 22, 2007, Judge Ferguson sentenced Diaz to state prison for the term of 75 years to life.

The investigating officer for this case was D.A. Investigator Frank Arnold, the gang expert was Detective Joe Aguilar, and the prosecutor was Deputy D.A. Todd Zocchi.

Contact person: Don Gallian, Assistant District Attorney 733-6411