From Andy Furillo:
Emotions exploded on both sides of the aisle today when a Sacramento jury convicted two men of murder in the Aug. 8, 2006, shooting death of an 18-year-old bicyclist in Meadowview.
Michael Jamal Scott, 22, was convicted of first-degree murder and Ian Clark-Johnson, also 22, was convicted of second-degree murder in the slaying of Shanneel Singh on Tamoshanter Way and 68th Avenue.
Prosecutors said Singh and a friend were riding bikes in the Meadowview neighborhood when Scott shot them while hanging out of the window in a drive-by shooting in which Clark-Johnson was behind the wheel.
Scott is facing a term of life in prison with no chance of parole as a result of the conviction that included the special-circumstance allegation that it was committed in the course of the drive-by.
Clark-Johnson will be sentenced to at least 15 years to life. Sacramento Superior Court Judge Steve White will sentence the two when they return to court for their scheduled June 5 date.
Singh's grief-stricken mother shouted "it still doesn't bring my son back" in the courtroom after the verdicts were read. She broke down in sobs in the hallway outside the courtroom and needed assistance to leave.
A relative of Scott's also shrieked in agony outside the courtroom.
Bailiffs escorted both groups out of the courthouse.
The shooting death of Singh was the second of three slayings that ravaged Meadowview in a three-day period three years ago.
On Aug. 7, 2006, Roberto Placencia, 17, was shot and killed at the corner of Tamoshanter and Montecito ways while walking home from the light rail station. No suspect has been arrested in that case, which carries a $50,000 reward. Police say that anybody with information should call Crime Alert at 916-443-HELP.
In the third slaying, Sylvia Guerrero was gunned down on Aug. 9 in Martin Luther King Jr. Park. The defendant in that case, John Faavesi, 20, pleaded no contest last month to voluntary manslaughter and a separate assault with a deadly weapon charge. Faavesi faces a term of 36 years and eight months in prison when he is sentenced May 29 by Judge Maryanne G. Gilliard.
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