Gang Members Get 54-1/2-Year Term In Turf Slaying Of Child Girl, 3, Was Riding With Her Family When They Ran Into A Barrage Of Bullets On L.A.’S Mean Streets

Three gang members were sentenced to more than 54-1/2 years in prison Friday for shooting to death a 3-year-old girl whose family took a wrong turn onto their turf.

Anthony Rodriguez, 28, Manuel Rosales, 23, and Hugo Gomez, 17, could be eligible for parole in 46-1/2 years.

The three were convicted last month of murder and attempted murder for the 1995 attack on the car carrying Stephanie Kuhen, her mother, uncle, two young brothers and a family friend.

The family was returning home from a birthday party when the driver turned down a dead-end street while looking for a shortcut. The Avenues gang claimed the street as its territory.

Gang members blocked the car’s retreat with a trash can and opened fire.

Stephanie was shot in the head. Her 2-year-old brother was wounded in the foot, and the driver was shot in the back.

At the sentencing, the girl’s grandmother Linda Dalton wept as she shouted at the men: “How dare you! You’re no better than wild animals! And I want you to be locked in a cage forever so you can never hurt another family.”