2 life terms for killer of 2 rival gang members in Sparks

RENO, Nev. – A 26-year-old gunman convicted of killing two rival gang members in Sparks seven years ago has been sentenced to two life terms in prison without the possibility of parole.

A Washoe County District Court jury convicted Luis Menendez-Cordero of the 2010 double-murder last week. A judge sentenced him on Tuesday.

Authorities say Menendez-Cordero was a member of the Mara Salvatrucha, also known as MS 13 gang. They say that following the shooting, fellow gang members helped him flee to California and then to El Salvador.

He was arrested there in 2015 and extradited back to Nevada to face charges in the deaths of 19-year-old Kevin Melendez and 21-year-old Moises Vasquez Sanchez at a party in Sparks.