Killer Sentenced To Prison For Murdering Rival Graffiti Gang Member
March 11 2022, Published 10:41 a.m. ET
A graffiti war in Las Vegas ended with blood being shed and a teenager being killed.
Now, a spray paint rival will head to prison for decades.
This month, a judge in Clark County, Nevada, sentenced Luis Loya, 26, to 25 to 65 years in prison, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Loya was convicted of first-degree murder for the 2014 killing of Angel Campos, 17.
Investigators said Campos was part of a graffiti crew called “Bombing City Walls,” and he had trouble with a rival gang. That is when Loya and a co-defendant approached Campos.
Loya then shot him in the head, according to the Review-Journal.
Prosecutors described the killing as cold-blooded.
“He took the gun from Mr. Mejia and not only shot Mr. Campos, but shot him in the head at close range and did not give him a chance,” Clark County prosecutor Rachel O’Halloran said, according to the Review-Journal. “Over spray paint. Over the fact that the defendant’s friend was in a fight with somebody that … the victim wasn’t even involved in. There was absolutely no provocation in this case and no reason this crime should have occurred.”
Loya’s attorneys said he planned to appeal the conviction and the killer declined to comment at his sentencing.
Campos’ mother, Guillermina Leon, addressed the court during a hearing and said their family was heartbroken, according to the Review-Journal.
“I ask you as a mother to please serve justice for my son Angel,” Leon said, the Review-Journal reported. “What Luis Loya did has ended me in this life. I’m practically dead. I’ve had eight years of no peace as a result of what Luis Loya did to my son.”