Santa Rosa man gets life sentence for gang slaying

<p>A 23-year-old Santa Rosa man was sentenced Monday to life in prison without the possibility of parole for gunning down a rival gang member on a South Park neighborhood street in 2009.</p><p>Jurors convicted Fernando Mendoza of killing Luis Suarez, 18, also of Santa Rosa in an escalating dispute over gang turf.</p><p>A police officer testified Mendoza confronted Suarez near the intersections of Grand and Pressley avenues after he thought Suarez was "mad-dogging" him. He shot him once and stood over the fallen man as he fired three more bullets into his body.</p><p>Mendoza was caught after one of his friends bragged about killing Suarez and then recanted under questioning from police.</p><p>After the killing, Mendoza received tattoos labeling him a Norteno killer. A letter he sent from jail was signed "asesino" or assassin.</p><p>Mendoza was convicted in December after a five-week trial. His bid for a re-trial was rejected earlier this year.</p><p>He received an additional 25-year-to-life sentence for use of a gun along with a one-year enhancement for serving time in prison before the shooting.</p>