SANTA ANA – A Santa Ana gang member was sentenced to life in state prison without the possibility of parole plus 70 years to life in prison Friday for the drive-by shooting-death of an innocent teenager he mistook for a rival gang member.

Guillermo Brambila, 25, was convicted by an Orange County jury in January of conspiracy, murder, attempted murder, active participation in a criminal street gang while carrying a loaded firearm in public, three counts of street terrorism plus several sentencing enhancements.

Brambila and fellow criminal street gang member Jonathon Andrew-Marquez Dizon, 20, were standing on Bradford Street in Santa Ana on Nov, 27, 2007 watching a black car drive into their neighborhood, prosecutors said, when Brambila handed his gun to Dixon told him to shoot.

But the occupants of the car fired back, hitting Dizon several times before driving away, according to prosecutors. Brambila ran up to his friend, took the gun from his hand as he lay dying, and fled the scene. Dizon was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Two weeks later, Brambila and fellow members of his gang drove into a rival gang neighborhood looking for someone to kill in retaliation, according to a news release from the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.

Brambila, the driver, spotted Eric Guerrero, 15, walking down the street, prosecutors said. Several shots were fired from the car, striking Guerrero in the chest. He too was transported to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

But Guerrero was not a gang member, prosecutors said.

Brambila was arrested two days later after a car stop by Santa Ana police and a brief foot pursuit where officers saw him toss a gun behind a hotel, according to prosecutors. The gun was recovered and ballistics tests linked it to the Guerrero shooting.

Contact the writer: lwelborn@ocregister.com