Gang member, 22, sentenced to 40 years in 2003 murder

A 22-year-old gang member was sentenced Tuesday to 40 years to life in prison.

A jury found Julius Bradford guilty of first-degree murder and attempted robbery in August in the murder of Benito Zambrano-Lopez. The 48-year-old father of seven was walking to a grocery store June 8, 2003, on Tumbleweed Avenue near North Rancho Drive, when he was attacked by three men.

Bradford was convicted in 2004 of first-degree murder and sentenced to the same penalty, but the Nevada Supreme Court overturned the conviction, citing erroneous jury instructions in the first trial.

Bradford's attorney, Mace Yampolsky, said his client intends to appeal the most recent conviction.

Bradford was not the shooter, but prosecutors argued he attacked Zambrano-Lopez, along with Steven Perry, then 18, and Tyrone Williams, then 16, in an effort to rob him. Bradford then urged Williams to shoot the victim, said a witness who testified that she was with the trio after the shooting.

Perry and Williams both were sentenced to 40 years to life in prison.