Monrovia Cousins Convicted in Sammantha Salas Slaying
By John Stephens
Published: Wednesday, July 14th, 2010
A Burbank courtroom swelled with emotion on Tuesday afternoon as a jury convicted cousins Rayshawn and Nickelis Blackwell in the 2008 machine gun slaying of 16-year-old Sammantha Salas in Monrovia. The Blackwells, both members of the Duroc Crips street gang maintained stoic countenances as two guilty verdicts – one for first degree murder, the other for attempted murder – were announced by the jury following deliberations. Many of the Blackwell’s friends and family members were visibly and audibly distraught upon hearing the verdict, and Nickelis Blackwell was heard to let loose a loud outburst of expletives as Sheriff’s deputies led him out of the courtroom in handcuffs.
Before leaving, Rayshawn Blackwell turned to the audience and said with a smile, “It’s all right. We’ll be back.” But it may be quite a long time before the Blackwells see the light of day again as free men – if at all. Sentencing is scheduled for August 24 and the two men now face up to five life terms in prison, according to Deputy District Attorney Joe Porras. Geoffrey Pope, Rayshawn Blackwell’s attorney, said that the two men are potentially facing “several hundred years” in prison and that “no one on this earth will be alive” when their terms expire.
16-year-old Sammatha Salas was murdered on January 26, 2008 in the 2500 block of Peck Road as she and once of her friends were walking to a local store. Sammath’a friend escaped by running away, though only after incurring severe gunshot wounds which left her hospitalized for an extended period. The area of Peck Road in which the shooting took place is an unincorporated Los Angeles County area near the southern Monrovia city limit.
According to detectives, the shooting was the result of an ongoing spate of gang-related, retaliatory shootings between the rival Duroc Crips and Monrovia Nuevo Varrio gangs that began in late 2007. The Salas shooting came just 12 days after 64-year-old Sanders Rollins was gunned down in his front yard by members of the Monrovia Nuevo Varrio, a primarily Latino gang.
Prosecutors maintained that the Blackwells were emotionally distressed the day of the shooting, having attended the funeral for Rollins – who was their uncle –earlier that day.
The conviction for attempted murder was for a January 14, 2008 shooting that targeted the father of a man who has been charged in the Rollins murder. That case has yet to be brought to trial.
According to Sheriff’s Detectives, neither Sammantha Salas nor the other wounded teen were involved in either of the two quarreling gangs.
1 Response for “Monrovia Cousins Convicted in Sammantha Salas Slaying”
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BOOM BOOM, and out go the lights! at least for these scumbags!