State Appeals Court Upholds Conviction of Man in 2008 Monrovia Shooting

A state appeals court panel today upheld a gang member's conviction for a 2008 shooting in Monrovia that left a 16-year-old boy paralyzed from the waist down.

The three-justice panel from California's 2nd District Court of Appeal rejected the defense's contention that there were errors in Jimmy Santana's trial in Alhambra Superior Court.

Santana was convicted in February 2012 of one count each of attempted murder, shooting from a motor vehicle and assault with a firearm involving the Jan. 12, 2008, shooting, with jurors also finding true gang and gun allegations.

The victim was riding his bicycle on Peck Road after buying snacks from a nearby store, when he was shot at close range by the passenger in a burgundy- colored car who had yelled a derogatory term for a black street gang, according to the appellate court panel's ruling.

The victim later identified Santana -- with whom he had attended school - - as the gunman, according to the 19-page opinion.

In a statement read in court by Deputy District Attorney Stacie Mayoras just before Santana was sentenced in June 2012, the young victim wrote that he had prayed for Santana and his family countless times.

"Now I do not want you to think that I sympathize with you or I feel sorry for you in any way, although I must admit I hate that any of this had to happen ... I am a strong individual and if I were to let something such as being shot devour the rest of my time living, then I would consider myself to be a fool," the victim wrote.

Santana is serving a 40-year-to-life term in state prison.