Throughout the murder trial for the men accused of killing her son, Helen Dandini was regularly taunted by one of the defendants.
Almost daily, Rudy Anthony Ruiz turned around in his chair, and from behind framed glasses, his eyes would meet hers. He'd crack a smile and chuckle at her. Once, he waved.
But on Friday, as a judge prepared to send her son's killers to death row, it was Dandini's turn.
"You can sit here and laugh as much as you want, yet we are the ones having the last laugh," said Dandini, addressing Ruiz and the court from a podium, her husband, Hank, at her side. "Yours is laughter of fear. Ours is laughter of relief and of justice, knowing that you are gone forever and can no longer hurt or destroy innocent victims' lives."
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Robert Perry said the "callousness" of Ruiz's crime was "breathtaking." He called Ruiz's co-defendant, John Michael Perez, "an obvious danger to society." He sentenced both men to death for the slayings of Dandini's son Garret, 25, her nephew Tony Dandini, 39, and their friend, Juan Carlos Carrera, 37.
Ruiz continued to smile throughout the proceedings.
Prosecutors alleged that Ruiz, 34, and Perez, 47, were involved in a shooting inside a Pico Rivera pizza parlor June 27, 2009. The victims were members of a motorcycle club that had gathered at Falcone's Pizza for a fundraiser benefiting two children whose parent had died in a house fire.
According to prosecutors, Ruiz and Perez, both gang members, mistakenly believed that those sponsoring the pizza party were members of a rival gang.
Ruiz fired the first shots from the back of the crowded restaurant, authorities said. Perez was the getaway driver, prosecutors said. In addition to the men who were killed, seven other patrons of the restaurant were injured, including a woman who is now wheelchair bound.
At least two other men were believed to have been involved in the shootings. One suspected gunman was later killed, according to prosecutors, and the investigation into a second suspected gunman remains open.
Dandini said her son was a petty officer second class in the Navy who had survived three tours of duty in Iraq and one in Korea. At the time of his death, he was working as a military recruiter.
"He loved what he did," Dandini said. "This is why it is so hard for us to comprehend.... He died by terrorists from his own country, the same country he was defending."
Sandra Carrera, 40, whose husband of nearly 17 years also died in the gunfire, told the court her health has declined since his death and she has trouble sleeping.
"I don't know how to walk this Earth without my mate," she said.
As Carrera spoke of the activities she could no longer do with her husband — camping, traveling and cooking — Ruiz laughed audibly.
Outside the courtroom, Carrera fought back tears and leaned on a new friend: Odalys Govea, one of the jurors who served during the trial.
Govea and three other jurors and alternates were present for the sentencing.
"It's very sad that this circumstance has brought us together," said Govea, who hugged several of the Dandini family members after the sentencing ended.
Shonda Brown, an alternate juror, explained that the bond was forged out of their shared sadness over the senseless crime.
"How do you shoot into a crowd, like it's a video game or something?" she said.
matt.hamilton@latimes.com
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