3rd Man Guilty in Murder of Santa Ana Church Elder

LOS ANGELES —  A reputed gang member was convicted on two first-degree murder charges Wednesday, including the slaying of a Santa Ana church elder who was gunned down in a telephone booth as he prayed a few feet from his wife.

After a week of trial, a Superior Court jury found Tracy Lavelle Carter, 21, guilty in the fatal shootings of Leopoldo Salgado of Los Angeles and David Eugene Thompson, an elder of the Greater Zion Apostolic Church in Santa Ana.

Carter, the third and final person convicted in the slayings, could face the death penalty because jurors also convicted him on a special circumstances allegation that the murders were committed during the commission of a felony.

Thompson, 27, of Tustin, and Salgado, 48, were robbed and killed within 90 minutes of each other in South-Central Los Angeles on April 9, 1987, during an attempt by Carter and two other young men to obtain money for beer and cigarettes.

In addition to the murders, the jury of seven women and five men found Carter guilty on two counts of robbery, two counts of attempted robbery and one count of attempted murder.

“I am ecstatic,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Anne Ingalls, the prosecutor. “It is the most appropriate verdict that can be reached in this case. He was the triggerman. The crime was horrendous.”

As the verdict was read, Carter removed his glasses, furrowed his brow and slumped in his chair next to defense lawyer Anthony Alexander. The defendant, who was a member of the Kitchen Crips before joining the 74 Hoover Crips street gang, wore a gray double-breasted suit and loafers to court.

“It is not really appropriate to talk about the case right now. . . ,” Alexander said. “You know anything can happen, but I can’t say we expected this verdict. He (Carter) is taking it pretty hard.”

Whether Carter gets death or life in prison will be determined at a hearing to begin Tuesday before Superior Court Judge Jean E. Matusinka. During this second phase of the trial, Ingalls will try to persuade the jury to give Carter the gas chamber, while the defense will argue that Carter deserves life in prison.

Ingalls said Wednesday that Carter should get a death sentence because of the seriousness of the offense, his previous criminal record as a juvenile and his conduct in jail while awaiting trial. She declined to elaborate.

Thompson was killed in a gas station telephone booth at Slauson Avenue and Broadway, where he had gone for help after a bus from his church broke down during an outing. As his wife waited in their car, three men accosted them and took $10 from her purse. Then Carter shot Thompson once in the head as he prayed.

Police said the men took Thompson’s 1986 Hyundai and drove to a liquor store where they bought beer and cigarettes. Prosecutors showed that they returned to the store later and shot Salgado to death when he and his friend refused to give them money.

During the trial, Thompson’s widow, Namora, spent three hours on the witness stand recalling in detail what happened. She identified Carter as the triggerman and said he cornered her husband in the phone booth.

Ironically, she testified, they had stopped at the gas station because it was well-lighted and looked safe.

Namora Thompson, who now lives in Orange, testified that she was concerned about Carter from the start because he was arguing with and cursing at her husband, who repeated “hallelujah, hallelujah” before he was shot. She estimated that the attack lasted several minutes.

“Every time she thinks about it, Carter’s face comes into her mind,” Ingalls said. “Her kids still ask her where their daddy is.”

Namora Thompson could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Earlier this year, Andre Moore, 19, was sentenced to 32 years to life in prison for the slayings of Carter and Salgado. Todd Lavera, 25, received 58 years to life in prison in September for his role in the crimes.

Moore, who was 16 when the killings occurred, pleaded guilty to the first-degree murder of Thompson in exchange for the dismissal of charges from the Salgado killing. Lavera was convicted by a jury.