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Jun 17, 2015

US teen gangster gets life for Lane murder

TEENAGER Chancey Luna was a member of the notorious Rollin 90s Crips gang when he murdered Australian baseball player Chris Lane in a drive-by shooting.
LUNA'S affiliation was made public as he stood in front of Judge Ken Graham in the rural city of Duncan, Oklahoma, on Tuesday to face sentencing.
The words "Crip for Life" and a symbol were carefully written in black pen on the back pocket of his orange jumpsuit. Luna was just 16 on a hot afternoon in August, 2013, when he randomly selected Lane as the Melbourne 22-year-old jogged along a Duncan residential street. "I have no doubt he is part of that gang and he admitted being part of that gang in the pre-sentence investigation," District Attorney Jason Hicks told reporters. The Rollin 90s Crips was founded in Los Angeles' southern suburbs and has spread across the US. Hicks also told the court Luna was selling drugs before the murder. At the end of the hearing, which lasted about 15 minutes, Judge Graham sentenced Luna to life in prison without the chance of parole. Luna showed no emotion and declined to address the court. The sentence matched the recommendation handed down by the seven man, five woman jury at Luna's trial in April. Luna's lawyers have filed an appeal, arguing he should have been tried as a juvenile not an adult and the trial should not have been held in Duncan. Judge Graham does not believe the appeal will be successful. "I remember when I was 16," the judge, who was emotionally shaken by the case, said. "I certainly knew the difference between right and wrong and I knew taking somebody's life was definitely wrong." Luna was in the backseat of his 17-year-old friend Michael Jones' black two-door Ford Focus and another friend, 15-year-old James Edwards, was in the front seat rolling a joint when they saw Lane jogging ahead. Luna pointed the gun out the front passenger window, the bullet entered under the Australian's left shoulder blade and bounced around inside his body tearing organs and arteries. Lane stumbled, crossed the road and fell face down in a ditch. He gasped for breath for 10 minutes before dying. Melbourne-raised Lane had a baseball sports scholarship with Oklahoma's East Central University. Lane's parents, Peter and Donna, were at the trial but stayed in Australia for the sentencing. Mr Lane welcomed the sentence, however was disappointed Luna would appeal. "It'd be nice to have it done and dusted," Mr Lane said. It will take two years for the appeal to be heard. Luna's mother Jennifer rejected her son was a member of the Crips, telling reporters he was part of a "wannabe gang". "That's all it is - wannabe gangs," Ms Luna said. "These little kids running the streets, that's all it is." Luna, locked up in the Stephens County Jail in Duncan since the night of the shooting, has asked to be transferred to one of America's most notorious prisons - Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, nicknamed "Big Mac". The 107-year-old maximum security prison houses more than 1,100 inmates, is home to the state's death row and is where executions are undertaken. Luna couldn't face the death sentence because he was a juvenile. Luna's lawyer Jim Berry said the teenager was looking forward to the prison because it has outdoor yards, not like the enclosed Stephens County facility. Asked if he thought Luna had shown any remorse for Lane's murder Judge Graham had a quick reply. "Never," the judge said.

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