Retaliation killings get two 25-year sentences

Friday, Aug. 13, 1999 | 11:35 a.m.

A District Court judge sentenced Gustavfo Cumplido to two 25-year sentences Thursday, 25 years for each person he killed in what was an apparent case of mistaken identity.

Judge Sally Loehrer said the two sentences would run consecutively.

Cumplido, 36, who could be eligible for parole in 20 years, pleaded guilty in June to two counts of second-degree murder in the shotgun slayings of Elroy Numez, 17, and Carlos Lopez, 20.

Cumplido's 15-year-old son, Matthew, already has admitted he fired a pistol during the Feb. 20 incident near Pecos and Bonanza roads and pleaded guilty to assault with a deadly weapon. He was placed on probation.

The elder Cumplido said he was trying to protect his family from repeated vandalism when he and other members of his family chased down a vehicle he thought was carrying people who had been involved in the activity.

It was alleged the shooting was in retaliation for repeated vandalism, a car theft and drive-by shootings at the Cumplido home near Pecos Road and Stewart Avenue.

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