A jury has found Simi Valley gang member Daniel Elijah Ramirez guilty of murdering two men more than three years apart.

Ramirez was found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder for the shooting of Angel Luevano, 30, in December 2003, and in the unrelated slaying of Luis Torres in January 2007.

Torres was shot once in the heart in an alley in Simi Valley.

Both victims were Simi Valley residents.

Jurors also found Ramirez, 24, guilty of assault with a firearm against Omar Aguilar the same day as the 2007 murder.

Senior Dep. District Attorney Maeve Fox said there were two special circumstances in relation to the murders: that the crimes were committed for the benefit of a street gang and that multiple murders were committed. Because both circumstances were found to be true by the jury, Ramirez will be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Ventura County Superior Court Judge Kevin DeNoce set the sentencing for Oct. 6.

Ramirez’s lawyer, Willard Wiksell, argued that his client killed x Luevano in self-defense and that he wasn’t even at the scene of Torres’ murder.

“It was a case where an eyewitness (identified) him, but they say he has the wrong guy,” Fox said.

Fox also confirmed that Wiksell plans to file a motion for a new trial, which is “standard.”

“There was a very hotly contested severance motion before the trial that the defense lost,” Fox said. “They wanted to try the two murders one after the other with separate juries instead of together. The judge ruled against them. I’m sure that will be the issue when they (file for a new trial).”