Gang member gets 128 years for Halloween night murder of 5-year-old boy

A gang member was sentenced Tuesday to 128 years to life in prison for fatally shooting a 5-year-old boy showing off his new Spider-Man outfit on Halloween night in 2010.

Leonard Hall, 26, had already been found guilty in May of second-degree murder for the death of Aaron Shannon Jr. and two counts of attempted murder.

Two previous juries had been unable to reach a unanimous verdict in trials to determine whether Hall was the gunman.

Another man, Marcus Denson, 23, previously admitted his role in the attack and was sentenced to nearly 25 years in prison. He testified that Hall was the shooter. Prosecutors said Denson and Hall were gang members who had crossed into a rival gang’s territory, looking to shoot somebody.

“It’s been very hard, going day by day. We’re doing the best we can,” the boy’s father, Aaron Shannon Sr., said in court Tuesday morning. “I’m glad justice has finally been brought to my family.”

William Shannon, Aaron Jr.’s grandfather -- who was shot on the wrist that night nearly five years ago -- also spoke about the family’s loss, saying of the man who killed the boy: “I wish him well.”

Aaron Jr. was fatally shot as he showed off his new costume in the backyard of his great-grandmother’s South Los Angeles duplex. A bullet fired from the alley behind the residence struck Aaron in the head. He died at a hospital the next day.

The boy’s uncle was also wounded in the shooting.

In court, Hall had pleaded to represent himself. He reconsidered after advice from the judge and allowed his lawyer, Carol Ojo, to represent him at the sentencing.

Ojo filed a motion for a retrial on the grounds that she was not allowed to present an eyewitness account expert to discredit witness testimony from the prosecution. The judge ruled against the motion.

“I think it’s a very sad in 2015 to get a conviction on this information,” Ojo said in court. “The information was unreliable and we’ve seen studies which discredit witness testimonies. And there was no hard evidence which identified my client as the gunman.”

William Shannon said in March that he was confident Hall was the man who took his grandson’s life.

“In my heart and mind, I’m sure that’s the right guy,” said Shannon, who identified Hall from a group of photographs shown by police. “I think the system is fair. The thing is, the wheels of justice turn slowly. I understand that. My family understands that.”

Twitter: @JeromeRCampbell