Gilbert Villanueva, right, was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for the 2012 murder of Joshua Angel Burciaga, left. (Mug shot from the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office; Victim’s photo from his obituary)
A Southern California gang member seeking vengeance on a rival after one of his own was injured in senseless violence was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison after admitting to chasing down a 14-year-old boy and shooting him dead in a park as the boy begged for his life.
Gilbert Villanueva, 29, learned his fate for the 2012 murder of 14-year-old Joshua Angel Burciaga, prosecutors announced in a news release. Villanueva pleaded guilty last month to one count of first-degree murder with a special allegation that it was for the benefit of a street gang.
The killing happened on the night of June 27, 2012. Looking for revenge, Villanueva and a co-defendant, Justin Patino, went to a park — their faces covered with bandannas as they approached their victim. They confronted Burciaga, who had been at the park with his friends.
The two men recognized the victim, pulled out revolvers and fired at him as he tried to run, authorities said. They chased him down while shooting at him until he fell.
Then, when he was on the ground, still breathing, the killers fired more shots as he pleaded for his life.
“Homie, please don’t do this,” he said, according to court documents.
Burciaga died at the park from multiple gunshot wounds to the head, arm, chest, back, and foot. Two of the shots to the head were at close range, prosecutors said.
Villanueva was arrested the following month. Investigators found the two murder weapons — wrapped in the bandannas the men had been wearing the night of the murder — buried at a ranch in Santa Paula, more than an hour northwest of Los Angeles.
Villanueva, then 17, was tried as an adult.
“We are grateful to the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office for their thorough investigation of this case,” Supervising Senior Deputy District Attorney Tom Dunlevy said. “We hope that the defendant’s sentence provides some sense of closure to the victim’s family after so many years and allows them to continue the healing process.”
Patino, also then 17, was arrested on Oct. 3, 2012, as he was being released from a juvenile facility on unrelated charges, officials said. He was sentenced to 50 years to life in prison in 2018.
“It’s a very sad case when a 14-year-old boy loses his life to gang violence,” Ventura County Senior Deputy District Attorney Catherine Voelker said then, the Ventura County Star reported.
Burciaga was described in his obituary as a shy and quiet soul.
“He is remembered for being a class clown,” the obituary said. “He would cheer you up when you were sad. He loved hanging out with his friends and goofing off. He was our traviseo. Though he was taken too soon we take great comfort knowing that he is walking with our creator in heaven.”
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