Youth Sentenced for Forcing 2 Off Cliff : Crime: The 18-year-old gets 20 years for ordering pair he blamed for his brother’s suicide to jump off Point Fermin. Both men survived.

An 18-year-old Carson gang member who believed two young men were responsible for his brother’s suicide was sentenced Friday to 20 years in state prison for forcing the pair to jump off a 200-foot cliff in San Pedro.

David I. Salanoa, who prosecutors said never expressed remorse for the crime, sat impassively as Long Beach Superior Court Judge Charles D. Sheldon handed down the sentence.

Sheldon told Salanoa that with time off for good behavior in prison he may end up serving about half of the sentence.

“I hope when this is over you don’t get in trouble with the law again,” Sheldon said.

On Dec. 21, Salanoa forced 16-year-old Rodel Panis and 22-year-old Evan Rivera to jump off Point Fermin, a rocky cliff in San Pedro. Both survived but suffered severe injuries.

Salanoa, who originally was charged with attempted first-degree murder, pleaded guilty April 7 to the lesser charge of attempted second-degree murder as well as kidnaping and robbery. Prosecutors reduced the charge after concluding that Salanoa acted “in the heat of passion” stemming from the suicide of his 14-year-old brother the day before.

A probation officer said Salanoa admitted that “he did this for his brother,” who had shot himself to death the day before in front of Panis and Rivera.

Salanoa, who had consumed a 12-pack of beer, kidnaped the pair, drove around for a few hours discussing the possibility of shooting them, and then took them to Point Fermin. Pushing them to a fence at the edge of the cliff, Salanoa gave them the option of being either shot or stabbed, or jumping off the cliff.

Panis and Rivera survived the jump, bouncing off scrubby bushes before sliding down the rocky incline to the shore. Panis managed to climb back up and call for help.

Both are still recovering from major injuries. Panis recently had extensive jaw surgery; Rivera is permanently disabled with brain damage and other injuries, according to the pre-sentencing report.

Salanoa, who told a probation investigator that he had been a Scott Park Killers gang member “since birth,” never expressed remorse for the crime, according to the pre-sentencing report.