Teen sentenced for killing victim picked at random

A 19-year-old reputed gang member convicted of shooting and killing a randomly selected victim was sentenced Thursday to spend 40 years to life behind bars.

District Judge Kathy Hardcastle sentenced Moises Barragan to prison for the March 2007 slaying of Andre Devoe.

Devoe, 19, was out looking for work with several friends when he was gunned down in Meadows Village, a high-crime area behind the Stratosphere also known as Naked City.

Barragan also shot and wounded one of Devoe's friends.

Barragan, 17 at the time of the shooting, apologized Thursday to Devoe's mother Dwan Liggins, who was sitting in the courtroom, for the pain she was going through. But he still maintained his innocence.

"I didn't know them," said Barragan, also known as "Spider." "There's no (conflict) ... between someone I didn't know."

Barragan is a member of the Barrio Naked City gang. He also had a twin brother who was killed in an unsolved gang shooting, authorities said.

A jury in January convicted Barragan of first-degree murder with a deadly weapon, attempted murder with a deadly weapon, conspiracy to commit a crime and firing a gun from a vehicle. All charges except the conspiracy count were gang-related.

Devoe was not in a gang and had no connection to Barragan before the shooting. He had a fiancee, was the father of a young son and had worked in telemarketing.

On the day of the killing, Devoe and two friends were walking through the neighborhood looking for work, authorities said. Police had also said the men were walking to a pawn shop to sell a video game console.

Police stated that Barragan and two brothers, Jose Escamilla and Eduardo Escamilla, were in a vehicle and began taunting Devoe and his companions. Devoe and his friends sought refuge in a convenience store but he and a friend were shot as they left the store.

Authorities said Barragan and the brothers were driving through the neighborhood looking for rival gang members. When they couldn't find any, they settled on Devoe.

"They weren't doing bad activity. They weren't in the wrong place," prosecutor Sonia Jimenez said of the victims. "They were simply going about their own business."

Jimenez said Barragan showed no remorse over the shooting. At one point, police recorded jailhouse telephone calls while Barragan was in custody and overheard him telling his girlfriend to have a shotgun ready for him when he gets out, she said.

"He doesn't care what happens," she said. "He's dedicated to this gang."

The Escamilla brothers were each sentenced to five to 20 years in prison for their role in the shooting.

Liggins, who wept in court, told the judge that her son wasn't a gang-banger or drug dealer but a hard-working man. She said she hoped Barragan spends the rest of his life in prison.

"I believe in my heart that he doesn't deserve another chance," she said.

Contact reporter David Kihara at dkihara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039.