A state appellate court panel Wednesday rejected a bid for re-sentencing by one of five men convicted of torturing and murdering a man in Walnut Park in a dispute over marijuana two decade ago.
The three-justice panel from California’s 2nd District Court of Appeal rejected the defense’s contention that there was not substantial evidence demonstrating that Ruben Servin was a major participant in the June 2003 killing of Miguel Trejo, noting that its review showed “substantial evidence” that he was “a major participant and that he aided and abetted the torture and murder.”
Trejo was shot in the knee, beaten with a blunt instrument in the face and head and strangled in a dispute over the whereabouts of marijuana, according to the appellate court panel’s 12-page ruling.
Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies found the victim’s body wrapped in a blanket, and discovered tape, handcuffs, a gun and an electrical cord on the defendant’s property, the justices noted.
Servin and four other men — who were also convicted of robbery, burglary and dissuading a witness — were sentenced in 2004 to life in prison without the possibility of parole.