2 convicted of first-degree murder in south Sacramento shooting

Two men have been convicted of first-degree murder in the January shooting death of a man in front of a south Sacramento residence.

A Sacramento County jury found Ruben Guajardo and Gino Taylor, both 26, guilty of the murder charge and also found that Guajardo discharged a firearm causing death, according to a Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office news release.

On Jan. 25, Taylor approached Victor Aranda, 28, who was with friends in the front yard of a residence in the 6300 block of Hermosa Street, near Sacramento Executive Airport. Taylor reportedly asked Aranda to step onto the sidewalk, away from his friends, so they could talk privately. When Aranda left the yard, Guajardo ran up and shot him four times, killing him, authorities said.

Sacramento police detectives found a contentious exchange between Aranda and Taylor on Instagram regarding a debt Aranda allegedly owed Taylor, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

Taylor and Guajardo are to be sentenced July 17 before Sacramento Superior Court Judge Sharon Lueras.

This story was originally published May 29, 2015 at 2:51 PM.