Two Simi Valley gang members were found guilty Oct. 16 of the gangrelated assault and torture of two men in 2006.

The jury found Delfino Vasquez, 27, and Walter Escamilla, 34, guilty of multiple counts of aggravated mayhem, assault with a deadly weapon, false imprisonment with violence, and torture.

Jurors also found that some of the crimes against the victims were intentionally committed for the benefit of the Simi Valley Westside Locos criminal street gang.

Ventura County Superior Court Judge Kevin DeNoce set Vasquez's sentencing date for Nov. 12. Escamilla will be sentenced Dec. 19.

Both face multiple life sentences.

In a hearing following the trial, DeNoce verified prior felony convictions against Vasquez—he had previously been convicted for assault with a semiautomatic firearm and shooting into a home—putting Vasquez within the confines of California's three-strikes law.

Prosecutor Joann Roth, deputy district attorney for Ventura County, said she was pleased to hear the guilty verdicts but also mindful of the victims, who are still suffering two years later.

"I know the two victims still have a long way to go before they can think of this without having so much pain," she said.

On Oct. 14, 2006, Vasquez used a razor blade to cut the face of David Youell at an apartment in the 1500 block of Patricia Avenue.

A month later, Vasquez held Zacarias Carranza captive at the same apartment and tortured him by using a razor blade to carve large initials into his back. According to reports, Vasquez later drilled into Carranza's hand with a power tool.

Both crimes were committed with the help of Escamilla.

Roth said that Youell was extremely emotional during the rendering of the verdict and that jurors were crying as well. Many of them asked to speak to Youell afterward.

"They stayed and they spoke to him; they hugged him," she said. "The jurors were really concerned about the victims and how they would live the rest of their lives."

Roth said the evidence against Vasquez and Escamilla was "overwhelming" and that the victims' personal testimonies were most compelling, particularly when they showed the jury their scars.

Public Defender Randolph Tucker, the lawyer for Vasquez, said that his client was "disappointed" with the jury's decision.

"The difficulty with this case was both defendants were being tried together," he said. "It makes for a very difficult situation when you have two defendants sitting next to each other and one is arguing one thing and one is arguing another."

Tucker said that before the trial began he asked to have the defendants tried separately, but that request was denied. He added that it was difficult to "persuasively argue his innocence when the codefendant is sitting right there pointing the finger" at Vasquez.

Deputy D.A. Roth said Vasquez and Escamilla's behavior is that of "evil people."

"The nature of these crimes was so vicious and inhumane that they reflect that both defendants are evil," she said. "To inflict this type of pain and suffering and branding on the victims is unconscionable.

"We hope that they're both sentenced to the full extent of the law and that they are never able to set foot amongst the people of Ventura County ever again," Roth said.