Drive-By Gunman Convicted of Murder in Gang Shootings

A street-gang gunman in one of the worst drive-by shooting rampages in Los Angeles history was convicted Friday of two counts of murder, seven charges of premediated attempted murder and one count of robbery.

Faitdon Gipson, 18, was found guilty by a Superior Court jury and faces up to 61 years in state prison, plus seven life terms. He is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 28.

Because Gipson was only 16 at the time of the shootings, he will not face the possibility of a death sentence, according to Deputy Dist. Atty. David Demerjian.

The prosecutor charged that Gipson, described as a “hard-core” gang member, was the gunman in pay-back shootings near Raymond Avenue and 46th Street on April 1, 1988. Gang member Stacey Childress, 19, was killed and 10 others, including a 5-year-old child, were wounded.

The night before, Demerjian said, Gipson shot and killed Loul Alemu, 27, a parking lot attendant, while trying to steal the victim’s car, which was stopped at a red light at 54th Street and Vermont Avenue.

Demerjian said Alemu was wearing a red jacket--a color associated with the Bloods street gang--and Gipson thought he was a rival gang member.

Juvenile Court Judge Donald Pitts decided at a hearing in May, 1988, that Gipson could be prosecuted as an adult.