Highland Park Man Convicted of Double Murder

A Highland Park man was convicted Wednesday by a Los Angeles Superior Court jury for murdering two men in Pasadena and then carjacking a woman who witnessed him crash the vehicle that contained the two dead bodies, according to City News Service.

CNS reports that the jury deliberated for about about a day and a half before convicting Manuel "Lil' Bad Boy" Penaloza of the Oct. 27, 2006, execution-style killings of Francisco Regalado and Joe Malta.

Penaloza will be sentence on Oct. 27, exactly five years to the date after the crime.

He was also convicted of carjacking Heidi Muenzenmayer, a woman who had seen him crash the car on San Rafael Boulevard. Police would later discover the bodies of Regalado and Malta in the trunk of the vehicle.

According to testimony, Muenzenmayer went over to check on Penaloza, who pushed her out of the way before entering her 2004 40th anniversary Ford Mustang in an attempt to make a getaway.

Muenzenmayer, whose 12-week-old Australian Shepherd was in the back seat of the car, was dragged by the front driver's side window of the vehicle for about 400 yards as she attempted to stop Penaloza from making off with her puppy.

She was dislodged from the vehicle after Penaloza struck a brick wall. Police would later find the vehicle, with the unharmed dog inside.

Muenzenmayer survived the incident with injuries to her face, hands and feet.

Penaloza's case drew national headlines in 2007, when he was featured by America's Most Wanted. That same year, he topped AMW host John Walsh's most wanted list.

Penaloza evaded authorities for more than two years before being captured near his grandfather's village in Guerrero, Mexico.

As a result of his extradition from Mexico, Penaloza is not eligible for the death penalty.