Two suspected gang members involved in a 2008 shooting in Canyon Country were sentenced to 45 years plus two life sentences Wednesday.

On Tuesday, January 8, 2008 at 1:41 p.m., deputies responded to reports of a shooting near Whites Canyon Road and Lone Rock Street, Canyon Country.

The day of the incident detectives from the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff Station’s COBRA team began an immediate investigation and determined that three male Hispanic suspects in a dark colored vehicle, possibly a 1997-2000 Ford Mustang, stopped on southbound Whites Canyon Road and exchanged words with three male Hispanics who were standing on Lone Rock Street.

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When one of the individuals on Lone Rock Street approached the car, one of the passengers of the car fired at least one gunshot from a small caliber handgun striking the victim, a 19-year old male Hispanic of Canyon Country, in the upper torso.

The victim was transported to a local area hospital where he was treated. He survived the shooting.

As the investigation continued, the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff Station’s Detective Bureau; COBRA Unit and Community Interaction Team (CIT) spearheaded a gang suppression operation in Santa Clarita on February 14, 2008 in follow-up to information that was developed regarding the whereabouts of a potential suspect.

Nearly 100 Deputy Sheriffs and other personnel converged on 13 locations from the Santa Clarita Valley to Northern San Diego County. When the operation concluded, deputies had arrested Daniel Gonzalez, 20, of Alpine, California in connection with the Canyon Country shooting.

The next day, February 15, 2008, a second suspect in the case, Pablo Blanco, 19, was taken into custody in connection with the case.

Detectives received information that that Blanco had been seen in the area of the 18000 block of Delight Street, Canyon County. They immediately surrounded the location and suspect Blanco was taken into custody without incident.

Now, more than 30 months later, the jury trial has concluded and both men were found guilty on charges of attempted murder with gang allegations.

Both suspects were sentenced Wednesday in San Fernando Superior Court to 45 years plus two life sentences in state prison for their involvement in the shooting. They will not be eligible for parole consideration until they serve a minimum of 53 years in state prison.

Gonzalez and Blanco become two more examples that gang membership and crime doesn’t pay in Santa Clarita.

“We won’t tolerate gangs, drugs, and violent crime in our community,” said Captain Paul Becker of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station. “This case is a perfect example of the types of prison sentences that come with these serious violent crimes. Before considering gang involvement or violent crime ask yourself if it is worth spending the rest of your life behind bars,” added Becker.

The investigation has concluded.