He killed Camille Love, injured her brother in 2010 shooting. Friday he was sentenced

The final man to be sentenced in a 2010 gang shooting that killed 20-year-old Camille Love in Tacoma and injured her brother was ordered Friday to spend 30 years in prison.

Santiago Villalva Mederos, 31, pleaded guilty last year in Pierce County Superior Court to first-degree murder in Love’s killing. Since the shooting, six other men — all said to be members of the same gang — have been sent to prison with sentences ranging from about 12 to 35 years.

Prosecutors have said the Feb. 7, 2010, murder was meant to target members of a rival gang. It would have been revenge for a shooting carried out by that gang two days earlier outside an Eastside nightclub. Instead, gunmen shot two people with no ties to the gang they meant to retaliate against. From a stolen van, Mederos and Saul Mex fired at least 12 gunshots at Camille and Josh Love as they drove on Portland Avenue in a red car while Josh wore a red jacket. The color red was associated with the rival gang.

Camille Love died in the barrage of gunfire. Her brother was injured but lived, and he attended the sentencing hearing. He said the proceeding was the first time Mederos had ever looked him in the eye. Speaking before the sentence was handed down by Judge Bryan Chushcoff, Love said that whatever amount of time Mederos received, at least it would be over and done for the defendant. Love said the effects of the shooting are with him always.

“I live with this every day,” Love said. I don’t get a break. I get small moments of peace when I’m around my kids or I’m doing things I’m passionate about like cooking at my job. I wake up in pain. I go to sleep in pain. I live my daily life in pain.”

The maximum penalty Mederos could have received is life in prison. According to court filings, Mederos’ defense attorneys requested that he be sentenced to 20 years. Prosecutors went for the high end of the standard sentencing range at 35 years, arguing it would be unjust to give Mederos a more lenient sentence when the other men directly involved in the shooting got 35 years.

Arguing for that sentence during the hearing, deputy prosecutor Greg Greer described both the detailed planning that went into the shooting and the ultimately callous way it was carried out. He said the day before, gang members met at a leaders’ home to discuss the plan, and on the day of the shooting there was another meeting to dole out assignments.

Some men would be lookouts for cops and potential targets. Others would be doing the shooting, and one man would drive the shooters away. Greer said the gang members couldn’t find a target for a considerable amount of time, and it was only when some lookout vehicles had already given up that the men came across Camille and Josh Love.

“She had a red vehicle, and Josh was the passenger and he had a red jacket on,” Greer said. “And the van came up or saw them, decided OK, that looks like a [gang member], they wear red. That could be — maybe, maybe not — they didn’t care.”

According to previous reporting by The News Tribune, Tacoma Police Department initially suspected the fatal shooting was a road-rage incident. It wasn’t until suspects began being charged and arrested in September 2010 that the gunmen’s motives were publicized. But by the time arrests were made, Mederos had fled to Mexico.

For a decade, Mederos worked a variety of jobs, had romantic relationships and lived a free life, according to a court filing made by the state. Aware the FBI was looking for him — he was added to the Bureau’s 10 Most Wanted list in 2017 — Mederos had infrequent contact with his family.

The FBI’s Seattle field office said Friday that its agents continued to investigate the case for years. A federal arrest warrant was issued for Mederos in 2016. In June 2020, the defendant was arrested in Tenancingo, Mexico, about 62 miles southwest of Mexico City.

Killer asks for forgiveness

Outside of the courtroom, Josh Love said he was disappointed with Mederos’ sentence.

“He literally got away with murder,” Love said. “He got away with attempting to murder me. The only comfort I can take is just that you know, it’s all finally over and he’s going to be away for a good chunk of time.”

Mederos apologized to Love’s family during the hearing, saying that he wasn’t in the right state of mind. He said he was going through a lot at the time, but he said it wasn’t an excuse, and he knew his time in prison wouldn’t bring back Camille Love. He said he would use his time incarcerated to try to better himself and prepare for the future. He asked for forgiveness from the victims’ family.

Josh Love said he thought the apology was sincere in some sense, but he didn’t think it represented the man’s true character. The pain of this shooting — both physical and mental — appears to have never left Love. He said it has been a goal of his to leave Tacoma ever since he was shot, and at the beginning of this year, he moved to Whidbey Island and took a job as a sous chef at a fusion restaurant in Coupeville. His employer and a cousin attended the hearing with him Friday.

Love said he loves Tacoma, but it breaks his heart to see so many shootings in the city. He said he feels like he hears about another one every time he turns on the news. Love said that shortly after agreeing to take his new job, he was locked into the Tacoma Mall during the Black Friday shooting.

“There’s slices of Tacoma that’s nice and you can really enjoy,” Love said. “But there’s other places. And things are starting to spill out to even the nice slices. All the shootings and stuff are spilling everywhere, and it’s not someplace I really feel comfortable being. It’s not someplace I want to raise my kids around.”