March 2010 Archives

POMONA -- A Claremont High School football standout pleaded no contest today to criminal charges alleging he had sex with two underage girls.

Tyler Singleton, 18, entered the pleas in Pomona Superior Court as part of plea bargain that carries a jail sentence of six months to a year.

Commissioner Wade D. Olson told Singleton he will determine the length of the jail term after he hears statements from people involved in the case at Singleton's May 5 sentencing hearing.

Prosecutors charged Singleton, of Pomona, with a felony and a misdemeanor March 10 for allegedly having sex in January with a two underage girls, one 14 and one 15.

One of the girls who came forward in the case told police Singleton forced her to have sex in a bathroom at Cahuilla Park in Claremont.

Singleton admitted in interviews with police that he had sex with the girl, but he said the sex was consensual, said Claremont police Lt. Shelly Vander Veen.

Prosecutors did not charge Singleton with forceful rape -- just statutory rape, which a spokeswoman for the Los County District Attorney's Office called "the appropriate charges" based on the evidence prosecutors received.

Singleton, a senior, has been the high school's starting running back since his sophomore year, and was the team's leading rusher each of those three seasons. He was named to the All-Baseline League the past two seasons.

Besides serving a jail sentence, Singleton will be on probation for five years as a result of his conviction.

He will be prohibited from contacting the girls who accused him of rape, and he will face mandatory testing for HIV and AIDS, Olson and a prosecutor said.

If Singleton violates the terms of his probation or fails to arrive on time for sentencing, his plea bargain could be voided, potentially exposing him to a prison term of up to three and a half years.

"Do not be late," Olson told Singleton. "Do not get in trouble. ... If you mess up, don't get back here, all bets are off."

Singleton declined to comment after the hearing.

Before Singleton pleaded no contest, he and five supporters formed a circle, held hands and prayed in the hallway outside the courtroom.

Photo from the Sycamore Inn Web site.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- A former assistant manager at the Sycamore Inn steakhouse was sentenced to 32 years to life in prison today for stabbing his former boss in the neck in an alleged robbery attempt.

A jury deliberated for only about two hours last month before finding Travis Lee Mascarenas guilty of attempted murder and three other felonies for the Aug. 7, 2007 incident.

In a statement prior to sentencing, Mascarenas apologized and said he regretted his actions. He said the incident has "degraded" him and his family.

"I know that I have lost my place in this world," Mascarenas said.

Mascarenas, who turned 41 today, will be first be eligible for parole when he is 68 or 69 years old, said Deputy District Attorney Kyung Kim.

Prosecutors accused Mascarenas of sneaking into the landmark Rancho Cucamonga restaurant though a back door as the business was closing for the night, with plans to break into the business' safe.

But the alleged robbery was interrupted by manager Louis Alvarez, who supervised Mascarenas when he worked at the restaurant.

Once he realized he had been recognized by Alvarez, Mascarenas stabbed him in the neck, nearly killing him, prosecutors said.

During his trial, Mascarenas' attorney told jurors that Mascarenas was drunk during the incident, and was too intoxicated to form an intent to kill Alvarez.

In a statement in court today, Alvarez said he still suffers nerve damage sustained in the attack, and suffers psychologically as well.

"(Mascarenas) is a danger to anyone who gets in his way," Alvarez said. "We are lucky he hasn't killed yet."

Alvarez said after the hearing that he was happy with Mascarenas' sentence. He called the defendant's statement in court, in which he apologized to Alvarez, "manipulative."

"I think he had a long time to think about what he had to say," Alvarez said. "I think parts of it were sincere, parts of it were not."

Prior to sentencing, Judge Michael A. Sachs denied a motion from Mascarenas asking the judge not to factor a prior strike conviction into his sentence.

Mascarenas was convicted of armed robbery in New Mexico when he was 19.

"You are going to be punished, and you are going to be punished severely. ... We can't as members of civilized society do what you did," Sachs said.

The judge said he received at least 28 letters in support of Mascarenas from his family members and other people, including New Mexico state Rep. Luciano Varela and several police officers from the state.

"One of the things I note from these letters is that your family is very well respected in New Mexico," Sachs said.

Photo: Jose Angel Quintero is led into Fontana Superior Court on Dec. 21, 2007.

FONTANA -- A man accused of hitting a Fontana High School classmate in the head with a hammer three years ago pleaded no contest this week to attempted murder.

Jose Angel Quintero, 19, was accused of sneaking into the school's woodshop class on Dec. 11, 2007 and hitting a classmate with a hammer in the back of the head.

Quintero and the victim, both then 17, had reportedly been arguing over a girl before the incident.

Quintero entered the plea Thursday in Fontana Superior Court as part of a plea bargain with prosecutors.

The deal carries a prison sentence of seven years to life, but it must be approved by a judge before Quintero's agreed-upon sentence is imposed. Sentencing is scheduled for April 26.

The morning of the attack, Quintero asked the woodshop teacher what the penalties were for murder, authorities said.

After the victim was hit with the hammer, he fell and hit his head on a table, and his skull was injured in two places, authorities said.

Quintero walked home from school after the incident, but one of his parents brought him back and he confessed to the hammer attack, authorities said.

POMONA -- A 17-year-old boy pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges that he shot and killed a man in December to benefit a street gang.

Ramiro Hernandez is charged with murder in connection with the death of Edgar Silva, 21, who was shot and killed Dec. 19 at Garey Avenue and Philadelphia Street in Pomona.

Police found Silva, of Pomona, slumped over in his car Dec. 19 at about 9:30 p.m. after receiving reports that shots were fired in the area. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Hernandez was arrested five days after the shooting, said Shiara Davila-Morales, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

Besides murder, prosecutors have charged Hernandez with a felony for allegedly carrying a loaded firearm on Dec. 22.

Hernandez pleaded not guilty to criminal charges Thursday in Pomona Superior Court, Davila-Morales said.

Hernandez is next scheduled to appear in court April 27 for a preliminary hearing, where prosecutors present evidence for a case to proceed to trial.

He remained jailed Thursday in lieu of $2 million bail.

CHINO -- A man convicted of child molestation was taken into custody this week after being sentenced to three years in prison.

Jeffrey Allan Bitetti, 40, pleaded guilty in December to a felony for committing lewd or lascivious acts with a child, as well as a felony narcotics charge.

The Chino resident remained free on bail following his arrest in December 2006, but was taken into custody Tuesday following sentencing in Chino Superior Court.

Three children accused Bitetti of molestation: his niece, as well as two of his former girlfriends' children.

One of the girls told police she was four when Bitetti molested her in the 1990s.

The other victims told police they were seven at the time of the alleged abuse, which most recently occurred in late 2006, according to investigative reports.

Bitetti was originally charged with five counts of child molestation, but four of the counts were dismissed Tuesday as part of a plea bargain with prosecutors.

In an interview with police, Bitetti denied intentionally fondling the boy who accused him of molestation.

He said he may have inadvertently touched the boy's genitals while repositioning the boy as he slept. Bitetti estimated it may have happened as many as six times, according to investigative reports.

POMONA -- The woman who accused retired NFL place-kicker Tony Zendejas of raping her two years ago has filed a civil lawsuit against Zendejas and his San Dimas restaurant.

The woman is seeking unspecified monetary damages from Zendejas in her Jan. 22 complaint, which alleges negligence, battery, sexual battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Zendejas, 49, was acquitted by a jury in his trial last year for rape and other criminal charges. In testimony during the trial, Zendejas said he and the alleged victim had consensual sex.

Zendejas' attorney said today that he expects to prevail again in civil court.

"Obviously our position has been the same as it was in the criminal trial," said attorney James Reiss. "The lawsuit has no merit. This was a completely consensual sexual encounter."

"We expect the same outcome as we had in the criminal trial," Reiss added.

Zendejas was served with the complaint Wednesday at Zendejas Mexican Restaurant on Arrow Highway, said the alleged victim's attorney, Michael D. Payne.

"She wants to set the record straight on what happened to her that morning of Jan. 26, 2008, and a civil lawsuit is her chance for justice -- her last chance for justice," Payne said.

Payne said he believes the alleged victim can win in her civil case despite Zendejas' acquittal in his criminal case. He noted that O.J. Simpson was found liable in civil court for his ex-wife's death after his acquittal on murder charges.

"Frankly the standard in criminal cases is extremely high, it's beyond a reasonable doubt," Payne said "It's a lower standard that's set for civil cases, which is the plaintiff has to prove the case by the preponderance of the evidence."

Zendejas did not return a call seeking comment today.

Prosecutors accused Zendejas of serving the alleged victim alcoholic drinks laced with a date-rape drug at Zendejas Mexican Restaurant, then raping and sodomizing her at a nearby motel.

In her trial testimony, the alleged victim said she lost consciousness at the motel and doesn't recall consenting to sex with Zendejas.

The alleged victim's 11-page complaint filed in Pomona Superior Court alleges that she suffered injuries in the encounter with Zendejas.

She claims she lost income because the incident kept her from work, and she also incurred medical expenses.

"Antonio Zendejas exploited (the woman's) vulnerable condition and abused his position of authority," the complaint states.

The woman seeks unspecified damages, including punitive damages, as well as money for medical costs, lost income, attorney's fees and the cost of her lawsuit.

A case management conference is scheduled to take place May 28 in Pomona Superior Court, Payne said. A judge at that hearing may order the case to mediation, trial, or both, Payne said.

After his acquittal, Zendejas filed a federal lawsuit against the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and investigators who handled his case.

The lawsuit alleges the department violated his civil rights by failing to follow investigative leads that would strengthen his claims of innocence.

Reiss said the federal case is scheduled to go to trial in November or December.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- An Ontario man accused of shooting and killing a woman at a Montclair nightclub pleaded not guilty to murder this afternoon in West Valley Superior Court.

Prosecutors accuse Armando Hernandez Ledesma of killing Rafaela Davila on Sunday at the El Encanto nightclub at 10555 Mills Ave.

In a felony complaint filed today, prosecutors allege Ledesma, 22, killed 31-year-old Davila to benefit an Ontario street gang.

Deputy District Attorney Mary Izadi said today that prosecutors have "no documentation" that indicates Davila was a gang member.

At about 2 a.m. Sunday, Davila and at least one other woman began fighting in the parking lot outside the nightclub, and a group of men surrounded them, police said.

One of the men pulled out a gun and fired the shots that killed Davila, police said.

Ledesma was arrested at 5:45 a.m. Monday in the 800 block of East Cedar Street in Ontario.

Authorities believe Ledesma was the only gunman in the incident, but others might be charged with murder or other crimes in connection with the killing, Izadi said.

The prosecutor said the shooting remains under investigation by the Montclair Police Department.

Ledesma wore orange jail scrubs during his brief court appearance.

His attorney entered a not-guilty plea on his behalf, and Judge Raymond P. Van Stockum ordered Ledesma held without bail.

Ledesma is scheduled to next appear in court Tuesday, and a preliminary hearing -- in which prosecutors present evidence for a case to proceed to trial -- is tentatively scheduled for April 5.

Photo: Frank Holder leaves U.S. District Court in downtown Riverside after being sentenced to three years in prison for bank robbery. (Jennifer Cappuccio Maher/Staff Photographer)

RIVERSIDE -- Retired Pomona police Sgt. Frank Holder was sentenced to three years in federal prison today for robbing several banks in 2008.

Holder, 62, must surrender by May 10 to begin serving his sentence, said U.S. District Judge Virginia A. Phillips.

Phillips said at the start of the hearing she intended to sentence Holder to nearly five years, but she reduced the sentence after hearing statements in court from Holder, his wife, his son and attorneys in the case.

Holder, who worked for the Pomona Police Department for 30 years before retiring in 2004, apologized to his friends and family today in U.S. District Court in Riverside.

"I knew what I was doing when I did it," Holder said. "I felt bad about it."

Holder was arrested Oct. 29, 2008 after he robbed a Bank of America branch in Rancho Cucamonga. He later confessed to committing five bank robberies, including one in Glendora and two in Escondido.

The Phelan resident pleaded guilty in August to two counts of bank robbery.

He told authorities after his arrest that he had a large amount of credit card debt and was unable to afford minimum monthly payments despite a six-figure pension. Phillips said in court today that Holder had $80,000 in credit card debt.

Holder told Phillips that he feared he would lose his wife, two sons and grandkids because of his financial irresponsibility, so he turned to bank robbery.

Holder's attorney asked Phillips to sentence the retired police sergeant to one year and one day in prison, and Holder's family and friends pleaded for leniency in letters to the judge.

"He's a loving father, grandfather, friend," Holder's wife, Terrlyn Holder, told the judge. "He is needed by his family."

Psychologists who interviewed Holder after his arrest said in letters to the judge that Holder was raised in a loveless household, and was further traumatized in his late teen years by Army combat experience.

Holder claims that during his year of Vietnam War service in '66 and '67, he was sent on a secret mission to Cambodia where he was ordered to kill civilians and disrupt Viet Cong supply lines.

"He was asked to do things that, gratefully, most of us will never contemplate," his attorney, Kay Otani, told Phillips.

Otani said Holder developed a "shield against the world" in his childhood and military service. "It's the kernel that indicates some of why this happened," Otani said.

Before she sentenced Holder, Phillips credited Holder for his willingness to take responsibility for his actions, and for his cooperation with federal authorities after his arrest.

Though many who wrote letters in support of Holder cited his police career as factor that might sway the judge toward leniency in her sentence, Phillips seemed to hold the opposite opinion.

Phillips said that because Holder worked in law enforcement for several decades, he should know that for bank tellers and customers, there's "a high degree of trauma" during a robbery.

"It's a very serious offense," Phillips said.

Holder thanked his friends and family for their support during his courtroom remarks. There were about 20 people in court in support of Holder.

"I never really knew until this happened that I had so many people who cared about me," Holder said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Priya Sopori, Holder's prosecutor, told Phillips that though she favored a sentence of 57 months, she felt a three-year sentence "would not be unreasonable in this case."

RIVERSIDE -- Retired Pomona police Sgt. Frank Holder was sentenced to three years in federal prison this morning for robbing banks in 2008 in Rancho Cucamonga and Glendora.

Holder, 62, must surrender by May 10 to begin serving his sentence, said U.S. District Judge Virgina A. Phillips.

Phillips said her preliminary ruling was to sentence Holder to nearly five years, but she reduced the sentence after hearing statements in court from Holder, his wife, his son and attorneys in the case.

Holder, who worked for the Pomona Police Department for 30 years before retiring in 2004, apologized to his friends and family in U.S. District Court this morning.

"I knew what I was doing when I did it," Holder said. "I felt bad about it."

Holder was arrested Oct. 29, 2008 after he robbed a Bank of America branch in Rancho Cucamonga. He later confessed to committing five bank robberies, including one in Glendora and two in Escondido.

Holder pleaded guilty in August to two counts of bank robbery.

He told authorities after his arrest that he had a large amount of credit card debt and was unable to make minimum payments despite a six-figure pension.

He told authorities he feared his wife would leave him because of his financial irresponsibility, so he turned to bank robbery.

Holder's attorney asked Phillips to sentence the retired police sergeant to one year and one day in prison, and Holder's family and friends pleaded for leniency in letters to the judge.

"He's a loving father, grandfather, friend," Holder's wife, Terrlyn Holder, told the judge this morning. "He is needed by his family."

A psychologist who interviewed Holder after his arrest said in a letter to the judge that Holder may suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder from his military service in the Vietnam War, where Holder claims he was ordered to kill civilians.

Photo: Michael McKee and his girlfriend Julie Finneran (from MySpace).

POMONA - A jury of eight women and four men deliberated for about three hours today before finding a man guilty of first-degree murder for the Dec. 6, 2008 shooting death of Michael McKee, 30.

Louis Wilson, 34, will face at least 50 years to life for McKee's killing when sentenced, which is scheduled for April 15 in Pomona Superior Court.

"I'm glad that we took the guy off the streets," said McKee's father, Greg McKee, after the verdict was read. "We have waited 15 months for this."

Prosecutors accused Wilson of killing McKee because he believed McKee molested his best friend's young daughter, and because McKee's girlfriend rejected Wilson's sexual advances the day of the killing.

McKee was shot six times, with three shots hitting his head, as he sat in his car at about 8:40 p.m. in the 2500 block of South Virginia Avenue in Pomona.

In testimony Monday, Wilson said he was present when the shooting happened, but denied he was responsible.

Wilson testified that a man he didn't recognize was sitting in a nearby parked car when he and McKee arrived in the Virginia Avenue cul-de-sac.

According to Wilson, the man shouted that he was acting to avenge McKee's alleged molestation, then opened fire on the Pomona man.

In her closing argument to jurors this morning, Deputy District Attorney Stacy Okun-Wiese called Wilson's testimony a "fabulous drama" and "a show," noting that Wilson never told police about the other alleged shooter.

"The first time anybody hears this story is in the courtroom yesterday," Okun-Wiese said.

After McKee was shot, Wilson testified that he walked back to a friend's home in a Mission Avenue mobile-home park, then showered and washed his clothes with bleach.

Prosecutors said Wilson's actions indicate his guilt, but Wilson claimed he acted to avoid suspicion even though he was not responsible.

In testimony last week, a woman testified that Wilson confessed he had shot someone in the hours after the shooting, and asked her to help him craft an alibi.

Wilson acknowledged in his testimony that the woman's statements were true, but he said he confessed to the killing to coax the woman in to bed, and tried to craft an alibi because he wanted to avoid suspicion.

Okun-Wiese ridiculed Wilson's testimony in her closing argument, saying Wilson's actions were not those of an innocent man.

"This defendant told you that he watched his friend get murdered," the prosecutor said. "Then what does he do? He goes and has sex."

Asked what he thought of Wilson's testimony, McKee's father said: "That's [expletive]. Whatever he said in there was [expletive]."

When Wilson was arrested the day after McKee's killing, he was holding a photograph of his best friend's daughter.

He testified that he had the photograph with him because he wanted to explain to McKee's family what motivated the other alleged shooter to kill McKee.

About six months before McKee was killed, Pomona police investigated allegations that the girl was molested and concluded the allegations were unfounded, according to testimony during Wilson's trial.

POMONA - A Phillips Ranch woman convicted of murdering her husband was sentenced today to 50 years to life in prison.

Adrienne Davidson, 47, cried and said she regretted killing her husband, Ezra Davidson Jr., in a statement prior to sentencing in Pomona Superior Court.

"This is a tragedy beyond my own understanding," the woman said. "Regretfully I am the one who caused so much sorrow."

A jury deliberated for about three hours on March 9 before finding Adrienne Davidson guilty of first-degree murder.

The woman's attorney had argued in her trial that she should be convicted of voluntary manslaughter because her husband allegedly emotionally and physically abused her for several decades.

Adrienne Davidson discovered about three weeks before she shot her husband on Jan. 1, 2009 that he was having an affair with a college student, and was providing the woman with financial support.

In her trial testimony, Adrienne Davidson said she bought a gun after learning of the affair because she was grief-stricken and wanted to kill herself.

But in the moment before killing herself, she said she instead turned the gun on her sleeping 46-year-old husband.

"He was lying there like he didn't have a care in the world and I shot him," Adrienne Davidson said today.

"Ezra was not supposed to be the one that died that night. I was," she continued. "I loved him and our children needed him."

The woman broke down in tears several times in her half-hour statement, and pleaded with her family for forgiveness. Her daughter, father-in-law and mother-in-law were in the courtroom audience.

"I will always hope that we can be a family again," Adrienne Davidson said.

Speaking in open court prior to sentencing, Ezra Davidson's father said he felt Adrienne Davidson should spend the rest of her life in prison.

Ezra Davidson Sr. called defense allegations that his son was abusive a "fabrication."

"To hear my son pictured as he was during this trial with the fabrication of this defense - which we knew was a blatant lie - was an additional burden to this family," Ezra Davidson Sr. said.

Ezra and Adrienne Davidson's adult daughter, Jessica Davidson, told Judge David C. Brougham prior to sentencing that she felt the verdict against her mother was unfair.

"She's not a bad person," the woman said. "She was just stuck in a bad situation. And I will always love her."

She said she hoped "there's some miracle" that would allow her mother to be freed from custody to spend time with her and her brother, who was 8 years old when his father was killed.

"I know it's not right to kill somebody, but this is not fair," Jessica Davidson said.

The length of Adrienne Davidson's prison sentence was mandated by law at 50 years to life - consisting of 25 years to life for first-degree murder, plus an additional 25 years to life for using a gun.

She will first be eligible for parole in 2059, when she is 96 years old.

Photo: Michael McKee and his girlfriend Julie Finneran (from MySpace).

POMONA - A man on trial for murder in a Pomona man's shooting death denied responsibility for the killing on the witness stand today, and blamed the shooting on another man.

Louis Wilson testified in Pomona Superior Court that he watched on Dec. 6, 2008 as Michael McKee, 30, was gunned down by a man he didn't recognize in the 2500 block of South Virginia Avenue in Pomona.

Right before the alleged shooter opened fire on McKee, Wilson testified that the man shouted that he was acting to avenge McKee's alleged molestation of a young Pomona girl.

It was the first time Wilson, 34, had blamed the shooting on another person.

Prosecutors accuse Wilson of killing McKee because McKee allegedly molested Wilson's best friend's daughter, and because McKee's girlfriend rebuffed his sexual advances that day.

Wilson was the final witness called in his trial. Attorneys in the case are scheduled to give closing arguments Tuesday, and afterward a jury of eight women and four men will begin deliberations.

In his testimony this afternoon, Wilson admitted that he lied repeatedly about the incident in the past, and he said he never disclosed his story to police because he feared retaliation for cooperating with authorities.

"The testimony I gave today is exactly what I'm asking you to believe," Wilson said.

When asked to explain why he told a woman in the hours after the shooting that he was responsible, Wilson testified that he took credit to impress the woman and get her to have sex.

Wilson also explained that he showered and cleaned himself and his clothes with bleach after the shooting to eliminate possible evidence in order to avoid suspicion from police.

"I'm trying to erase any evidence of being at the crime scene whatsoever," Wilson testified.

Shortly before McKee's death, Wilson said McKee agreed to give him a ride to his aunt's home in Ontario.

As the men left McKee's home in the 600 block of South Reservoir Street at about 8:40 p.m., McKee said he needed to stop on the way to see someone, Wilson testified.

The men arrived in a Virginia Avenue cul-de-sac and McKee parked next to a man who was sitting in a parked car, Wilson testified.

The man, who Wilson testified as a Hispanic man wearing jeans and a blue short-sleeved T-shirt, asked Wilson to leave the car so he could have a private conversation with McKee.

Moments later, the man shouted he was acting in response to the alleged molestation, then opened fire, shooting McKee several times, Wilson said.

The man then turned to Wilson and said, "Are you a child molester too?" Wilson testified.

Wilson told him he wasn't, then ran from the area, he testified.

Under cross-examination, Wilson acknowledged that the day of the killing, he took his girlfriend's car without permission, walked in on McKee's girlfriend as she showered, and chased one of McKee's roommates with a candy cane lawn ornament.

Jurors also learned that Wilson has prior convictions for burglary and car theft.

When Wilson was arrested the day after McKee's killing, he was holding a photo of the alleged molestation victim. He testified that he had the picture because he wanted to explain to McKee's family why McKee was shot.

He claimed he didn't believe McKee had molested the child, but he said in his testimony that if he had believed the allegations were true, he may have killed McKee himself.

"He would have been done like that by me," Wilson testified.

Pomona police Detective Andrew Bebon testified that shortly before McKee and Wilson left McKee's home, McKee asked to use his roommate's cell phone.

The line of questioning into the phone call by Wilson's defense attorney seemed designed to infer that McKee's call was linked to his shooting death soon after.

Photo: Michael McKee and his girlfriend Julie Finneran (from MySpace).

POMONA -- A murder trial began today for a man accused of shooting and killing a romantic rival in the south side of the city.

Louis Wilson could face 50 years to life in prison if convicted of first-degree murder for the Dec. 6, 2008 shooting death of Michael McKee, 30.

A prosecutor told jurors in Pomona Superior Court that Wilson's motive was two-fold when he shot McKee six times in the 2500 block of South Virginia Avenue.

McKee's girlfriend rejected Wilson's repeated sexual advances the day of the killing, and Wilson believed McKee had molested their mutual friend's daughter, said Deputy District Attorney Stacy Okun-Wiese.

In testimony today from seven prosecution witnesses, jurors learned much about the case that links Wilson, 34, to McKee's killing.

The Pomona men argued and left McKee's home shortly before the shooting, McKee's girlfriend testified.

And in the hours after McKee was killed, Wilson reportedly washed himself and his clothes with bleach, then confessed to the killing and asked a woman to help him craft an alibi.

In his opening statement to jurors, Wilson's defense attorney, Steve Urias, said Wilson has been misidentified as McKee's killer and called the prosecution's evidence circumstantial.

The attorney said that of the 31 people on the prosecution's witness list, not one saw the shooting first-hand.

The morning of McKee's killing, Wilson arrived unannounced at the home McKee and his girlfriend shared in the 600 block of South Reservoir Street. McKee wasn't home when Wilson arrived, said the girlfriend, Julie Finneran.

According to Finneran's testimony, Wilson walked into the bathroom while she was showering, pulled back the shower curtain exposing her naked body, and demanded sex.

Finneran, who said she had sex with Wilson once in the past, said she turned Wilson down because one of her roommates was home and she didn't want to cheat on her boyfriend.

"I had a liking toward (Wilson), but it wasn't like we were dating or anything," Finneran said.

By the time Wilson left, Finneran had rejected his sexual advances two more times, the woman testified. Finneran later told McKee about Wilson's sexual advances.

When Wilson returned to McKee and Finneran's home that evening, McKee told him he didn't want him to visit anymore, Finneran testified.

McKee the offered Wilson a ride home even though the Mission Avenue mobile-home park where Wilson lived was within walking distance, Finneran testified.

Shortly before 9 p.m., residents in the 2500 block of South Virginia Avenue heard several gunshots, and a young woman returning home saw McKee slumped over in the driver's seat of his blue Chrysler PT Cruiser, according to testimony Friday.

McKee was shot three times in the head, and once each in the neck, shoulder and back, according to testimony from the medical examiner who performed McKee's autopsy.

All six shots entered the right side of McKee's body, and markings on some of the wounds indicate the shooting was at close range.

The description of the wounds is consistent with the prosecution's theory that McKee's killer was sitting in the passenger seat of McKee's car during the shooting.

In the hours after McKee's killing, Wilson returned to the mobile-home park where he lived and visited a friend's trailer.

A woman who lived in the trailer, Nohemi Sturgulewski, testified that she saw Wilson in the bathroom cleaning himself and his clothes with bleach.

"He was just standing there all wet with bleach," the woman testified. "... He was fully clothed."

Sturgulewski said she offered Wilson a change of clothes, and agreed to go with him when he left to drive to his aunt's house nearby.

As the two drove, Sturgulewski said Wilson told her he had just "crowned" someone -- meaning he shot a person in the head. Wilson also told her the person deserved to be shot because he was a child molester, the woman testified.

Though the two had met for the first time that day, Wilson told Sturgulewski he needed her to be his alibi.

Wilson told the woman to tell police they were together all day, and to say McKee had dropped him off at the mobile-home park in a blue PT Cruiser, the woman testified.

When Sturgulewski was interviewed by police about McKee's death, she initially repeated the story Wilson told her to tell.

But after police told her she could be charged as an accessory if she was lying to protect Wilson, she changed her story and told the truth about his alleged confession, the woman testified.

In his cross-examination of Finneran, Urias asked the woman numerous questions about her past drug use.

Finneran testified that she was high on methamphetamine the day of McKee's death, but went to rehab after the shooting and was now clean.

Urias also asked Finneran whether she and McKee were major meth dealers. Okun-Wiese objected to the question. Judge Robert Martinez sustained the prosecutor's objection and told jurors to disregard Urias' question.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- An accountant accused of embezzling more than $500,000 from an Ontario land-development company has pleaded no contest to grand theft as part of a plea bargain that carries a six-month jail sentence.

Prosecutors accused Heng Bill Chhay, 37, of writing himself 13 checks from company accounts over an 11-month period while he worked as the top accountant for Empire Cos.

Chhay, of Arcadia, pleaded no contest Thursday in West Valley Superior Court, and is scheduled to be sentenced May 4.

As part of his plea bargain, which must be approved by a judge, Chhay agreed to repay the money he's accused of embezzling, said Deputy District Attorney Michael Dowd.

According to investigative reports contained in his court file, Chhay's first act of embezzlement came in June 2007 -- 15 months after he was hired -- when he wrote himself a check for $193,000.

He mailed to the check to his personal post office box in San Marino, then deposited the check into his person bank account.

After depositing the check, he manipulated the company's computer system to make it appear the check had been voided prior to being cashed, investigators alleged.

Chhay allegedly sent himself an additional 12 checks before leaving the company in May 2008. An executive at the company contacted authorities about the alleged embezzlement in June 2009.

In October, Chhay confessed to embezzling from the company in an interview with a U.S. Postal Service criminal investigator.

He said he used the money to pay bills and student loans, buy stocks and luxury cars, and take a vacation to Las Vegas, according to investigative reports.

"Chhay was asked why he did this and he responded by saying he got a lot of companies out of trouble and felt like he was not compensated well enough for doing so, and also felt a lack of appreciation," an investigator wrote in the report.

Chhay a 16-year California resident and married father of three, was initially charged in December with 15 felonies: grand theft, embezzlement, and 13 counts of forgery.

The embezzlement and forgery charges will be dismissed when Chhay is sentenced, according to minutes from Thursday's court hearing.

POMONA -- A jury of eight women and four men was seated this afternoon to hear the murder trial of a man accused in the shooting death of Michael Allen McKee, who was shot in his car on Dec. 6, 2008.

Louis Charles Wilson, 34, was arrested the day after McKee, a 30-year-old Pomona man, was shot in a residential cul-de-sac in the 2500 block of Virginia Avenue in Pomona.

McKee was pronounced dead by paramedics after he was shot at about 9 p.m. in his 2006 Chrysler PT Cruiser.

Wilson has been jailed in lieu of $1 million bail since his arrest.

POMONA -- A woman has pleaded no contest to charges that she acted as an accessory to a killing here last year, a prosecutor said today.

Prosecutors accused Jessica Prendiz, 21, of trying to dispose of a gun used in the Sept. 29 fatal shooting of Armando Vidana.

Prendiz, of Pomona, was sentenced to a year in jail after pleading no contest Jan. 27 in Pomona Superior Court, said Deputy District Attorney Bjorn Dodd.

Charged with murder for Vidana's killing is Robert Caballero, 32. Caballero is also charged with murder in connection with two other killings last year, and could face the death penalty.

Caballero and three other men charged in connection with the killings are next due in court April 9.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- A jury convicted a transient this week on charges that he broke into lockers at local gyms, stealing wallets, credit cards and other items.

"Whatever he stumbled across when he broke into the locker," said Deputy District Attorney Mike Abney.

Jurors deliberated for only about an hour Tuesday before finding Randy Alan Larkins, 41, guilty of 10 felonies in West Valley Superior Court.

Prosecutors accused Larkins of breaking into lockers at local gyms five times before his arrest in November.

He first burglary was at LA Fitness in Upland in September 2008, Abney said.

After that crime, Larkins was arrested in Orange County for breaking into a gym lockers there. Larkin was jailed as part of that case until August, Abney said.

Soon after his release he resumed his prior criminal activity, Abney said, breaking into lockers at four local gyms:

-- LA Fitness in Upland on Sept. 27.

-- Bally Total Fitness in San Bernardino on Oct. 1.

-- 24 Hour Fitness in Montclair on Oct. 27.

-- Bally Total Fitness in Rancho Cucamonga on Oct. 28.

Video of two break-ins obtained by police showed Larkin completing the burglaries in about four minutes, Abney said.

When Larkin was arrested Nov. 11 in Chino, he told officers he had been living out of his car, Abney said.

Larkins was convicted Tuesday of five counts of burglary, four counts of receiving stolen property, and one count of unlawful use of identifying information.

He faces up to six years in prison when sentenced. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for April 20, Abney said.

From the San Gabriel Valley Tribune:

SAN DIMAS -- Authorities arrested a 67-year-old probate lawyer today on charges he embezzled more than $500,000 from the estates of four clients.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said Oscar Cruz Parra was arrested at his San Dimas home, four days after prosecutors charged him with embezzlement, perjury and preparing false evidence.

Read the State Bar of California's reports on Parra's conduct here and here.

An arraignment date was not immediately set. He was held in lieu of more than $600,000 bail, according to Sheriff's booking records.

Prosecutors allege Parra, whose office is on Lake Avenue in Pasadena, began embezzling from the accounts of estates he represented in December 2000. They say he then filed false court papers regarding the money in the client accounts.

The State Bar suspended Parra's law license on Feb. 21. He was admitted to the bar in 1974.

FONTANA -- The San Bernardino County Distinct Attorney's Office will seek the death penalty for a man accused of raping a woman and strangling her to death at a bakery here, a prosecutor announced Friday.

Gilbert Sanchez, 48, is charged with seven felonies in the Oct. 18, 2001 killing of 30-year-old Sylvia Galindo, an employee at Maria's Panaderia in the 15300 block of Merrill Avenue.

Prosecutors accuse Sanchez of breaking into the bakery after closing time, when Galindo was the only employee present.

Sanchez allegedly raped and sodomized Galindo, then strangled her to death with an electrical cord and wire coat hanger.

Prosecutors used DNA evidence to link Sanchez to the then-unsolved case in 2006. At the time of Galindo's killing, Sanchez lived a block away from the bakery and frequented the business, authorities said.

Sanchez is charged with murder, kidnapping, rape, sodomy, false imprisonment, robbery and burglary.

Deputy District Attorney Carolyn Youngberg announced the prosecution's intent to seek the seek the death penalty Friday in Fontana Superior Court.

Some of the jurors in the murder trial for Larry Hammett's killing have responded to a few questions about how they came to their verdicts last week.

Omari Ali, the admitted shooter, was convicted of voluntary manslaughter rather than murder, and Keyon Rasheed Hill, suspected of setting up the alleged robbery, was acquitted. Full Story.

Hammett's friends and family were very upset about the verdicts. One of Hammett's friends said of the jury: "The blood of Larry is on their hands." Full story.

The first juror whose comments I'm posting is Riena Welch, a 30-year-old accountant from San Dimas.

The second juror is a 35-year-old woman from Glendora who works as a hospital clerk. She asked that her name not be printed.

It's clear that both women took a lot of time and care writing their responses.

The responses have been edited for spelling and (lightly) for grammar, and I removed two sections at the beginning of Welch's e-mail related to organizing the interviews and coverage.

...

RIENA WELCH

Hello Will,

Hope your weekend was well. I am still not quite the same after that trial. I haven't slept in weeks. It's hard sleeping when I had the case on my mind, going over the testimonies in my head and not able to speak to anyone at home about my feelings was very stressful. The way I usually manage stress is I speak to my fiance and seek advice. I wasn't able to talk to the people closest to me about the case, so I had to bottle up my feelings. Now I can't sleep because of the public's view of the jury on this case. We are being painted as lazy, stupid or cold-hearted. It hurts that no one actually knows how hard it was so be in our shoes, to be locked up in a room with someone's life in your hands. It was very taxing on the emotions. I really believe it was a life-altering experience.

Questions:

Q: When the jury first retired to the deliberation room, what was the general feeling among jurors about the verdicts? Did some think Hill was guilty, or that Ali should be acquitted?

A: Some of us were crying and holding each other. We were relieved it was over, the burden has been lifted and we were free of the stomach aches and the nightmares. I felt bad for all the families involved. I wished so hard they could be in my shoes to feel what I was feeling, that I was frustrated too. We were frustrated at the lack of real evidence, frustrated that out of all the people at the barber shop, only 3 came forward. Frustrated that we had less control of the situation than we thought. There were a few people who thought Hill was guilty, but the thing is we had to PROVE it beyond reasonable doubt. Since we had several rational scenarios we were forced by law to choose the one that pointed to innocent. There just wasn't enough evidence and testimony that he was guilty -- we didn't have proof he planned anything. We didn't have proof he was in the room.We didn't have a whole lot on Hill at all. I feel It's better that 100 guilty men go free than one innocent man is sent to prison with a life sentence. No one thought Ali should have been acquitted.

Q: How were the verdicts for Ali settled on, and what was the general consensus about his role in the incident?

A: We started from the top. We went over Murder 1 then Murder 2 and so on. We read the criteria for each and if we can prove he met each criteria point. We could not agree at all for the first 2 1/2 days. We tried so hard to put aside personal opinions and any biases we had. It's hard to put feelings aside and just judge someone based on facts, when the facts you have are so conflicting and honestly not much to go on. We knew from his own testimony he shot Mr. Hammett, but we didn't have hard evidence and proof of the reason why. We wished SOOO hard there was a camera in the office so we had hard trustworthy evidence. We didn't have ONE piece of such evidence. We could speculate all day on his role in the incident, but we swore via an oath we would go by the facts and testimonies to piece the story together. We also swore if there was more than one rational scenario, we would have to choose the one that points to innocent, no matter what we felt, we had to go by the facts provided to us and follow the law.

Q: How were the verdicts for Hill settled on, and what was the general consensus about his role in the incident?

A: We decided to evaluate Hill based on our verdict of Ali. We had even less information on Hill than we did on Ali. We had no evidence he was actually in the room at the time of the struggle and no evidence he had anything premeditated. We looked at the evidence over and over, talked it out and could not find anything to convict Hill. We didn't have much to work with.

Q: How much time did the jury spend discussing each defendant?

A: We spent 2 1/2 days on Ali and about a day on Hill.

Q: Why didn't you, and the the jury as a whole, believe Ali and Hill robbed Hammett?

A: It's not that we didn't believe it. We couldn't base our verdict on what we thought happened, or an opinion on what happened. We had to base it on evidence. Believing it and proving it are totally different. We had to go by what was provided to us. And sad to say, it wasn't much. If we decided a verdict on opinions it would of been a different case all together. We owed it to those boys to follow the law not personal opinions.

Q: Who did you/the jury believe brought the gun to the barbershop?

A: We didn't have proof of whose gun it was, or where it came from. So we discussed possible scenarios and each were rational and made sense. By law we had to choose the scenario that pointed to innocent. Believe me, we wished we had more evidence, or some star credible witness who was able to clear it all up for us. I can't tell anyone who's gun it was. And even if I guessed I can't prove it beyond a reasonable doubt. That's the problem.

Q: What are your thoughts on Finley's role in the incident? Do you believe she wasn't involved in anything, as she testified?

A: Speaking for myself only, I think Finley was definitely at the wrong place at the wrong time. I think she was really oblivious to anything that was going on. Before she took the stand I was hoping she would give us some real information, she would really spill the beans so to speak. But for taking the plea bargain in exchange for information, I was disappointed in the lack of information she really had. It didn't help us very much, not as much as I would have liked. I think if she really HAD more information she would have given it. It proved to me she really didn't have much information and reaching out to save herself.

Q: Do you believe Hammett got angry at Ali, as Ali described in his testimony?

A: I believe there were several rational scenarios to this situation. I can't prove Hammett did get angry at Ali, just like I can't prove Ali brought the gun and aggravated Hammett. Only 2 people know what happened behind that closed door and one of them is deceased. We can only go by the person who was there. Like I have said before, if there was a camera in the office, we would have NO doubt what happened in that room, but we can't prove beyond a reasonable doubt based on evidence that Ali is guilty of the charges.

Q: Do you believe Hammett's drug sales had an impact on jurors' opinions about the case?

A: NO, we didn't base anything on opinion. No matter what Hammett's personal life was it didn't mean he deserved to die. He was a human being with a family and my heart goes out to them for their loss. His drug sales had no weight on our choice.

Q: How did you feel when you saw Hammett's friends and family members react to the verdicts?

A: My heart felt like it dropped to the pit of my stomach. I felt so bad for them, I know they wanted nothing more than for us to give a murder 1 verdict. I would of had NO problem returning a murder 1 verdict if we had substantial evidence and more credible witnesses, but we had little of both. Only a few people came forward to testify and what little evidence we had lacked quality. I read that some people called the jurors morons and cold-hearted. If we would have returned the verdict murder 1, we would have still been called those things from the other parties. I never served jury duty before and when this case started I was a bit excited to be a part of something so big. When days went on I was beyond stressed out and totally confused as to what the right thing to do is. I swore I would only go by the evidence, that I would listen to the testimonies with an open mind and piece together what was credible and then come up with a rational explanation. Again, we came up with several scenarios and explanations. If we would have decided on a verdict on personal opinion we would have taken the easy way out and also been done within a few hours. But the fact we spent days in deliberation following what the law states, we didn't take the easy way out. We did something that wasn't easy, it was very hard to return the verdict we did. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I wasn't fair to those boys, if I just returned the verdict based on opinion. I believe in my heart we gave it our all. I don't regret the choice we made, because I know it was fair. The deliberation room was covered wall to wall with huge pieces of paper, charts and diagrams. We were very passionate in making the right choices and being fair. I had my kid at age 14, I worked and went to school and made many hard choices in my life. This one is still one of the hardest choices I had to ever make.

....

GLENDORA HOSPITAL CLERK

Please let me start off by saying this was the most physically and emotionally exhausting thing I have ever been through. It was my first time serving on a jury and after that experience it will be a long time before I think I could handle doing it again. We were charged with holding those two young men accountable for their alleged crimes and we did the best we could with the evidence and testimony the district attorney gave us. We had so little to go on it made our task all that much more difficult to perform. It pains me to see all the bashing from Larry's family and friends against the jury when they really had no idea what it took for us to even come to the conclusion we did. We had to forget out opinions and feelings because that is what the law said we had to do. We are not emotionally dead people, we had a job to do and we did it to the best of our ability. None of us wanted to rush through our decision, we really did take our time and talk things out at great length, going back to our instructions/law many times to make sure we were on track. In closing the decision is the best we could have hoped for with what we were given. We can live with ourselves, hold our heads high and sleep at night knowing we did what we could and no one could ask for more....

Now for your questions:

Q: When the jury first retired to the deliberation room, what was the general feeling among jurors about the verdicts? Did some think Hill was guilty, or that Ali should be acquitted?

A: This was not going to be an easy process, we had little to go on and had to figure out the best place to start our deliberations. We never thought that we would be acquitting either one of them let alone Ali who admitted he killed Lary.

Q: How were the verdicts for Ali settled on, and what was the general consensus about his role in the incident?

A: We looked the counts one at a time, read and re-read the law as was given to us several times to make sure we understood what we were deciding on. We went through them one at a time starting at Murder in the 1st on down until we got our guilty verdict of voluntary manslaughter. We knew he was the shooter from his testimony, but with all the conflicting statements it was hard to decipher just what really happened.

Q: How were the verdicts for Hill settled on, and what was the general consensus about his role in the incident?

A: It was done the same way. As for his role? There wasn't much in a way of evidence either way. He may have shown them how to get there but only one person can really put him in the office at the time of the shooting. We felt that he was possibly an accessory but that was not one of the charges we had to choose from.

Q: How much time did the jury spend discussing each defendant?

A: 2.5 days with Ali, and 1 day with Hill.

Q: Why didn't you, and the the jury as a whole, believe Ali and Hill robbed Hammett?

A: Only one witness stated anything was stolen, and that was only after several interviews with police. It's not to say it isn't true, but it was enough to cast doubt in our minds as to who really took the money and marijuana.

Q: Who did you/the jury believe brought the gun to the barbershop?

A: Not really sure on that one, I think we were split on it. There was no hardcore proof one way or another.

Q: What are your thoughts on Finley's role in the incident? Do you believe she wasn't involved in anything, as she testified?

A: I do believe it was a case of being in wrong place at the wrong time, and she got VERY bad advice on taking a plea deal. I do believe that she is innocent.

Q: Do you believe Hammett got angry at Ali, as Ali described in his testimony?

A: I do believe it is possible that Larry did become angry with Ali, not necessarily the way Ali described but I do believe it is possible. There is testimony to a scuffle being heard in the office, but since none of us were in there at the time we will never know who really started it.

Q: Do you believe Hammett's drug sales had an impact on jurors' opinions about the case?

A: I can't answer for the other jurors but as for myself it had no impact on my decision what so ever. If he chose to sell drugs on the side then its his business. It doesn't mean he has any less right to live than anyone of us.

Q: How did you feel when you saw Hammett's friends and family members react to the verdicts?

A: My heart went out to his family and friends, I felt sick to my stomach. But we were sworn to uphold the law and that is what we did. No one can say we rushed our decision because its obvious we did not. We did the best we could with what we were given which was not very much.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- An Ontario man has pleaded no contest to eight counts of child molestation as part of a plea bargain with prosecutors that carries a 22-year prison sentence.

Jack Edward Andrews, 58, opted for the plea bargain Tuesday in West Valley Superior Court rather than risk a life sentence if convicted at trial.

After he was arrested in June on suspicion of molesting two of his daughter's friends, Andrews confessed to molesting five additional girls over a 12-year span, according to police reports.

"What I've done is such a heinous sin ... such a crime that even a Christian would probably have trouble understanding," Andrews said during his confession, according to police reports.

Before his arrest, Andrews worked as a painter for the Chino Valley Unified School District. He told police none of the girls he molested were from the district.

Molestation allegations first surfaced when two classmates of Andrews' daughter told a teacher at Vista Grande Elementary School in Ontario that Andrews touched their genitals when they visited his daughter at the family's apartment.

Andrews told police in his confession that he had been committing similar acts with 8 to 12-year-old girls for more than a decade -- with the most recent act the day before his arrest, while he played football with one of his daughter's friends.

Andrews remains jailed in lieu of $1 million bail at West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga.

He is scheduled to be sentenced April 8. His plea bargain must be approved by a judge for the 22-year sentence to be imposed.

RIVERSIDE -- A man serving a 5-year prison term for mutilating and killing cats in Rancho Cucamonga has denied criminal charges alleging he committed similar acts at a Corona motel.

Timothy Kooyman, 26, pleaded not guilty Tuesday in Riverside Superior Court to three felony counts of animal cruelty.

Prosecutors accuse Kooyman, a former Upland resident, of luring cats from nearby neighborhoods in February 2008 while he was staying at the National Inn in Corona.

Kooyman allegedly broke the cats' legs, decapitated a cat with an ax, ran over another with his truck, and cut another repeatedly with a razor blade.

Kooyman confessed to the acts after he was arrested in May 2008 for abusing and killing cats in Rancho Cucamonga, according to investigative reports.

He was sentenced to five years in prison in May last year after pleading guilty to four felonies related to the Rancho Cucamonga abuse -- three for animal cruelty and one for arson.

Prosecutors had accused Kooyman of setting a cat on fire, causing a small brush fire.

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POMONA -- A Claremont High School football star has been charged with two counts of statutory rape for allegedly having sex with two underage girls.

Tyler Singleton, 18, appeared this morning in Pomona Superior Court for an arraignment, but he did not enter a plea and the hearing was postponed to March 30.

The criminal complaint filed by prosecutors Tuesday alleges Singleton had unlawful sex in January with two girls -- one 14 years old, and the other 15 years old.

If convicted of both counts -- of which one is a felony and one is a misdemeanor -- Singleton could face up to three and and half years in prison.

Singleton was arrested last month after a 14-year-old girl told police he forced her to have sex in a bathroom at Cahuilla Park in Claremont.

In an interview with police, Singleton admitted he had sex with the girl, but said the sex was consensual, Claremont police Lt. Shelly Vander Veen said.

Singleton, a senior, has been the football team's starting running back since his sophomore year. He was the team's leading rusher those three seasons, and the last two seasons was named to the All-Baseline League.

Singleton came to court today wearing a black suit, red dress shirt and a black-and-white striped tie.

He said only, "Yes, sir," to Commissioner Wade D. Olson during the brief hearing -- once when asked to confirm his identity and again when ordered to return to court.

Olson ordered Singleton not to contact the alleged victims in the case.

Singleton's attorney told Olson the arraignment should be rescheduled to allow time for attorneys to review the case.

"Both sides need to do some work on this case before setting (a preliminary hearing date) or resolving it," said Vincent Malone, a Los Angeles County deputy public defender.

Though one of Singleton's alleged victims told police he forced her to have sex, the charges filed by prosecutors this week to not contain allegations of forceful rape.

A spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office declined today to discuss the case in detail.

"I really can't discuss the facts of the case and neither can (the lead prosecutor) at this point," Sandi Gibbons said. "However, based on the evidence that was presented and our evaluation of it we believed these were the appropriate charges."

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POMONA -- A jury deliberated for about three hours today before finding a Phillips Ranch woman guilty of first-degree murder for shooting and killing her husband.

Adrienne Davidson, 47, will face a mandatory sentence of 50 years to life in prison for shooting 46-year-old Ezra Davidson in the back of the head as he slept on Jan. 1, 2009.

Adrienne Davidson looked down throughout the hearing in Pomona Superior Court, and didn't move or visibly react as the verdict was read. She is scheduled to be sentenced March 23.

The woman's attorney argued during the trial that Adrienne Davidson should be convicted at most of voluntary manslaughter because she was subject to decades of physical and emotional abuse from her husband.

Adrienne Davidson had recently discovered her husband was having an affair, and the night she shot her husband she intended to kill herself because of grief over her husband's cheating, the wife testified last week.

But at she was preparing to shoot herself, she saw her husband lying asleep in bed and turned the gun on him instead, she testified.

"He was lying there like he didn't have a care in the world," Adrienne Davidson testified. "I don't know what happened. I just shot him."

The case's prosecutor dismissed her suicide claims, telling jurors in his closing argument that Adrienne Davidson went through several weeks of planning before shooting her spouse.

"She executed him," Deputy District Attorney Miji Vellakkatel told jurors. "And she planned it from the start."

Some of Ezra Davidson's family members cried in court as the verdict was read. They declined to comment after the hearing.

About three weeks before she shot her spouse, Adrienne Davidson discovered Ezra Davidson was having an affair with a 20-year-old college student and paying for the woman's tuition, rent and other expenses.

The wife purchased a gun in the days after learning of the affair. The wife testified that she bought the gun because she wanted to kill herself.

In his final comments to jurors Monday, Adrienne Davidson's attorney said the woman was provoked to kill her husband because he physically abused her and repeatedly cheated on her in their 24-year marriage.

To demonstrate his point, Winston McKesson, repeated the couple's adult daughter's reaction to her father's killing.

In a visit to the Pomona City Jail within hours of her father's death, Jessica Davidson told her mother that Ezra Davidson deserved to die because of the way he treated his family.

"He made his bed. Now he's lying in it," the daughter said, according to McKesson.

Vellakkatel said Ezra Davidson's cheating and alleged poor treatment of his wife does not excuse the wife's actions.

"The people do not condone (Ezra Davidson's) actions. ... But did he deserve death? No," Vellakkatel said.

Prosecutors are expected to file rape charges this afternoon against a Claremont High School student accused of forcing a 14-year-old girl to have sex, a Claremont police spokesman said.

"We should have charges filed by this afternoon," Sgt. Robert Rauchfuss said this morning. "That's what we're hearing."

Tyler Singleton, 18, was a standout running back for the school and a potential college recruit.

He was arrested last month in connection with the alleged rape and released from custody after posting $100,000 bail. He is scheduled to appear in Pomona Superior Court on Wednesday to answer to possible criminal charges.

Singleton, of Pomona, is accused of forcing the girl to have sex in the bathroom at Cahuilla Park, which is situated just north of the high school.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- A woman pleaded not guilty Monday to charges that she bribed a San Bernardino County sheriff's deputy after she was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving.

Marizella Perez, 28, was jailed at the end of her arraignment in West Valley Superior Court after a judge set her bail at $250,000.

Perez spent the night in custody before posting bail this morning, booking records show. She's next due in court Sept. 18.

Perez, of Rancho Cucamonga, allegedly offered a deputy $1,000 to free her after she was arrested in September in the area of Foothill and Day Creek boulevards.

A breath test measured her blood-alcohol level at 0.287, more than twice and a half the legal limit, according to investigative reports.

As she sat handcuffed in the back of a police car, she reportedly offered the deputy the bribe.

The deputy drove the woman to an ATM and she withdrew $200, promising the rest of the money in the morning, according to investigative reports.

Assemblyman Curt Hagman, R-Chino Hills, wrote an op-ed piece last week in the Daily Bulletin calling for an execution date for Kevin Cooper, the man convicted of killing four people in Chino Hills in the early 1980s.

In today's newspaper, Cooper's attorney, Norm Hile, called Hagman's piece "reckless" and challenged him to a public debate on the case.

Here's Hagman's piece and Hile's response:

...

Cooper's victims deserve justice now

Assemblyman Curt Hagman

Created: 03/02/2010 06:16:22 PM PST

On June 2, 1983, Kevin Cooper escaped from the California Institution for Men at Chino where he was serving time for burglary. Making his way to a vacant Chino Hills home, he hid there and plotted his escape. Feeling the need to run away from the immediate area, Cooper made the fateful decision to break into a nearby home. On June 4, he savagely murdered Chino Hills residents Doug and Peggy Ryen, their 10-year-old daughter, Jessica, and 11 year-old neighbor Christopher Hughes. He also left 8-year-old Josh Ryen for dead. Then Cooper stole the family's station wagon for his escape to Mexico.

After a massive seven-week manhunt by law enforcement, Cooper was finally arrested. In 1985, Cooper was found guilty of the four murders and was sentenced to death. He has pursued numerous appeals and made claims of a frame-up. Time and time again, his appeals were found to be without merit and consequently rejected. In 2004, Cooper claimed that DNA tests would prove his innocence. Instead, they conclusively placed him in the Ryen home.

Cooper was scheduled to be executed on Feb. 10, 2004, 21 years after the brutal murders. However, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals gave Cooper a reprieve on a technicality. After more legal maneuvers, the U.S. Supreme Court, 26 years after the murders, gave the last word and denied Cooper's petition for another appeal.

Or was it the last word? Cooper's execution date still has not been scheduled, and there is no indication that it will be anytime soon. He is a death row inmate who has been incarcerated for nearly three decades, from the time when Jerry Brown was still governor.

Cooper has been allowed to enjoy almost 27 more years of life by the courts, which is 27 years more than his victims were allowed to live.

With murderers like Cooper spending decades on death row, the inexplicable delay of justice is adding more anguish to the victims' families and eroding the effectiveness of our strong public safety laws. This is unacceptable. California's death penalty process must be expedited, and we must start by setting an execution date for Kevin Cooper.

Cooper has shown no remorse, and with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger affirming the death penalty as a necessary and effective deterrent, it is time for Cooper to receive the punishment reserved for the worst killers. As the Assembly member for the 60th District, I have called on the governor to set an execution date for Cooper to bring closure to this extremely tragic case. Our community demands justice, and I am confident that the governor will reach the same conclusion and enforce the law.

Since his initial conviction, Kevin Cooper has received the due process he was entitled to. Now it is time for the state of California to deliver the justice it promised his victims and their families. Anything less would deepen the pain of the families and make a mockery of our justice system.

Assemblyman Curt Hagman, R-Chino Hills, represents the 60th District and is vice chairman of the Assembly Public Safety Committee.

...

Reckless call for execution

Created: 03/07/2010 05:24:28 PM PST

State Assemblyman Curt Hagman's March 3 opinion piece ("Cooper's victims deserve justice now") urged that an execution date be set for Kevin Cooper, a death-row inmate who has yet to get a fair hearing. Assemblyman Hagman's reckless call for an execution date ignores substantial evidence showing that Kevin is innocent of the crime for which he is now sentenced to die.

I can only assume that Assemblyman Hagman does not know that five federal judges found evidence that "the State of California may be about to execute an innocent man" because of multiple instances of police and prosecutorial misconduct, including evidence that: (1) Local police destroyed and planted evidence; (2) Local police lied in their testimony; (3) Local police and prosecutors unconstitutionally withheld evidence from Kevin's lawyers at trial; and (4) Local police and prosecutors misrepresented and shaped witness testimony.

I challenge Assemblyman Hagman to meet me for a one-on-one public discussion of these facts before he rushes the execution of an innocent man. The governor, Attorney General Brown and the public deserve to know the truth, and Kevin deserves the fair trial he never received.

What California needs is for more witnesses to come forward with additional evidence proving Kevin's innocence, not reckless calls to kill an innocent man.

NORM HILE
Sacramento

The writer is Kevin Cooper's attorney and is working with the Northern California Innocence Project to prevent his execution.

POMONA -- Jurors heard two different explanations this afternoon for Adrienne Davidson's fatal shooting of her husband.

A prosecutor told a jury of 11 women and one man in his closing argument that the Phillips Ranch woman planned for several weeks before shooting and killing Ezra Davidson as he slept on Jan. 1, 2009.

Ezra Davidson, 46, kept a mistress and reportedly abused his wife, but that doesn't excuse his killing or make it anything less than murder, said Deputy District Attorney Miji Vellakkatel.

"Forget the bias. Forget the pity. Forget the sympathy. Evaluate the facts," Vellakkatel said.

Adrienne Davidson's attorney told jurors that the 47-year-old is guilty at most of voluntary manslaughter because her husband physically and emotionally abused her over their 24-year marriage, effectively provoking her to kill him.

"I prefer to call this the case of 24 years of punishment," Winston McKesson said.

McKesson said Ezra Davidson's treatment of his wife and children created a home environment that was "perverted," "vile" and "provocative."

When the couple's 22-year-old daughter visited her mother at the Pomona City Jail within hours of her father's death, Jessica Davidson told her mother that her father deserved to be killed, McKesson told jurors.

"He made his bed. Now he's lying in it," the daughter told Adrienne Davidson, according to McKesson.

The jury is scheduled to begin its deliberations at 10 a.m. Tuesday in Pomona Superior Court.

They will have the option of convicting Adrienne Davidson of first- or second-degree murder or of voluntary manslaughter.

Adrienne Davidson testified last week that the night she killed her husband she wanted to kill herself.

She said she held the gun to her head and put the barrel in her mouth before deciding to shoot herself while lying in bed.

At the last moment she saw her husband -- the source of her grief -- asleep in bed, and she shot him in the back of the head, according to her testimony.

"She never intended to kill her husband," McKesson said. "It just happened."

In his closing argument, McKesson's recited a lengthy list of wrongs reportedly committed by Ezra Davidson against his wife and family.

Vellakkatel told jurors the defense strategy was "complete character assassination" meant to gain the sympathy of the predominantly female jury.

"The people do not condone (Ezra Davidson's) actions. ... But did he deserve death? No," Vellakkatel said.

At one point in his closing argument the prosecutor briefly spoke as Ezra Davidson.

"My wife murdered me," Vellakkatel said. "I can't tell you how good of a man I was."

Ezra Davidson's mistress -- a 20-year-old USC student who worked in his office as a secretary -- was not the first woman he cheated with, McKesson told jurors.

He slept with strippers when the family lived in Austria, and when Adrienne Davidson found out about the affairs she cut holes in his shirts.

In response, Ezra Davidson dragged his wife by the hair down two flights of stairs, McKesson told jurors.

In other instances of abuse, he hit Adrienne Davidson across the face with a shoe, repeatedly slammed her arm in a door to get her to drop car keys, and stomped on her foot and broke her toe when she said she wanted to finish her college degree, McKesson said.

He put her out of the house overnight about 40 times, forcing her to sleep in a storage closet, McKesson said.

The newest revelations about Ezra Davidson's mistress compounded upon the existing "provocation" leading to his death, McKesson said.

Ezra Davidson was paying for the woman's tuition and her rent, and he purchased her a car, McKesson said.

Meanwhile, the family's mortgage had gone unpaid for several months and other bills were past due. He hadn't paid his daughter's tuition, and she was driving a car she felt was unsafe, McKesson said.

When Adrienne Davidson learned of the affair about two weeks before killing her husband, she purchased a gun.

She testified last week that she purchased the gun to kill herself because of grief over her husband's affair, but Vellakkatel said her plan from the start was to kill her husband.

"She executed him," the prosecutor said. "And she planned it from the start."

POMONA -- The co-owner of the Groom Time barbershop blasted jurors in the Larry Hammett murder trial today for acquitting one defendant Thursday and finding the other guilty of only voluntary manslaughter.

Tony Brown, who said he has known Hammett and his family for 20 years, said of the jury: "I look at them like they were riding in the car with that guy. ... They're just as guilty as them. The blood of Larry is on their hands."

"That was just a cold-blooded jury not to look at the evidence like they did," Brown continued. "They did not look at the evidence. ... Those jurors, they might as well have been Keyon's friend and let him off the hook. They're just as guilty as him."

Brown said business as Groom Time, located on Holt Avenue since 1991, has suffered because of publicity over Omari Ali and Keyon Rasheed Hill's murder trial. But Brown insists his barbershop is not dangerous.

"We're a family, Christian barbershop. We don't even use profanity in here," said Brown, of Pomona. "We're not gangsters or anything like that."

Brown said Hammett, a low-volume marijuana dealer, usually dealt with people his own age. Hammett was 46. Brown believes Ali, 21, and Hill, 20, may have seen Hammett as an easy target for robbery.

Prosecutors believe Ali and Hill robbed Hammett of marijuana and other items on July 27, 2008. Ali shot Hammett, according to prosecutors, because Hammett resisted the men's robbery attempt.

"I was totally out of his character for him to mess with anyone like that," Brown said.

The day of Hammett's death, Hill, of the Pomona area, came to Pomona with Ali and Ali's girlfriend, Breeana Finley, to look at apartments in the city, the defendants said. The Los Angeles couple said they were thinking of moving to Pomona.

The group said they went to Groom Time afterward to purchase marijuana from Hammett, not to rob him. Ali testified last week that Hammett pulled a gun on him and he feared for his life, so he snatched it out of Hammett's hands and shot him.

Prosecutors and Hammett's friend and family believe Hill, who often visited the barbershop, orchestrated the alleged robbery and enlisted his friend Ali to help carry it out.

Ali, said Brown, "got and the stand and lied, completely lied. And the one that walks away is the one that set the whole deal up in the first place."

Brown lamented that his business "still has to suffer" because of the incident, and at the same time he must "watch out for (Hill) every day in the community."

FONTANA -- A Bloomington man convicted of murdering his childhood friend was sentenced today to 62 years to life in prison.

Brian Gary Cullens, 48, was convicted of second-degree murder in October for allegedly shooting and killing Donald Marshall, 41, on June 7, 2003.

According to prosecutors, Marshall confronted Cullens the night of his death because he believed Cullens had stolen his tools and was romantically involved with his wife.

When Marshall, of Bloomington, went to Cullens' home in the 11100 block of Laurel Avenue and tried to fight him, Cullens shot and killed him, prosecutors alleged.

Cullens then dumped Marshall's body in the Jurupa Mountains and set it ablaze, causing a small brushfire, prosecutors alleged.

Prior to his sentencing today, Cullens denied responsibility for the killing when he took the witness stand in Fontana Superior Court as part of a bid for a new trial.

"I am not guilty of this charge," said Cullens, who was wearing orange jail scrubs, with his hands bound and his legs shackled. "I'm not guilty of any charge."

Cullens said he felt he didn't receive a fair trial. He said police failed to perform DNA testing on blood stains on his car which he believes may have helped prove his innocence.

"It would prove that it wasn't the victim's blood on the tailgate," Cullens said.

He also said his defense attorney did a poor job representing him, and a juror briefly fell asleep during his trial.

Judge Arthur A. Harrison rejected Cullens' motion.

Written statements from four of Marshall's family members were read aloud in court before Cullens was sentenced. The family members expressed no doubt about Cullens' guilt.

Marshall's younger brother, Chuck Marshall, said, "If Brian ever gets out, he will hurt someone else."

"Not a day goes by that I don't think about Don, and I miss him," he added.

The two main witnesses in Cullens' trial last year were a man who testified that he saw the killing happen, and a woman who said Cullens forced her to help dispose of Marshall's body.

Cullens' attorney told jurors that her client was not present during the shooting, and was framed by the two witnesses. Cullens did not testify in the trial.

Second-degree murder carries a base sentence of 15 years to life. Cullens' sentence was significantly longer because he used a gun, he has several prior convictions, including a strike, and the jury also convicted him of assault with a firearm.

Cullens' sentence makes makes him eligible for parole in 2065, when, if still alive, he will be 103 years old. His attorney said she would file a notice of appeal for Cullens.

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POMONA -- Two men accused of killing a barber in a robbery were found not guilty of murder by a jury today, with one man acquitted on all charges and the shooter convicted only of voluntary manslaughter.

The verdicts mean that the man accused of helping to orchestrate the alleged robbery may be released from custody today, and the shooter will be freed in about 15 years, at most.

Family members and friends of the barber, 46-year-old Larry Hammett, seemed devastated after the verdicts were read in Pomona Superior Court.

"Y'all killed Larry," one man shouted as he left the courtroom. "You just let them get off with it."

Prosecutors accused Omari Ali, 21, and Keyon Rasheed Hill, 20, of robbing Hammett of money and marijuana at the Groom Time barbershop in Pomona on July 27, 2008.

Hammett, of Ontario, resisted their robbery attempt, so Ali shot the barber six or seven times, killing him, according to prosecutors.

But in testimony last week, Ali said Hammett was the aggressor in the incident.

Ali said he and Hill visited the Holt Avenue barbershop because Ali wanted to speak to Hammett about possibly purchasing a quarter-pound of marijuana.

Ali testified that he smelled Hammett's marijuana and told the barber he didn't want to purchase it because it seemed low-quality. This incensed Hammett, according to Ali, and the barber pulled out a handgun and threatened to "blow (his) face off."

Ali said he feared for his life, so he wrestled the gun out of Hammett's hands and shot at him indiscriminately.

The jury of eight women and four men deliberated for about three days before announcing they'd reached a verdict at about 3 p.m. today.

Before the verdicts were announced, Hammett's mother sat in the courtroom with her head bowed and her hands covering her eyes.

Several dozen of Hammett's friends and family members joined her in the audience, while only Ali's parents and another man came in support of the defendants.

As Ali's verdicts were read, the Los Angeles man nodded his head and rocked back and forth.

Hill, of the Pomona area, was more expressive when he was acquitted. He shook his head and smiled, put his head in his hands, and rubbed his eyes.

Most of Hammett's supporters left the courtroom as Hill's acquittal was announced, with some of the men cursing quietly as they left.

Hammett's mother declined to comment as she walked away from the courthouse.

A women walking with her said: "It was a (expletive) up jury. That's what it was."

Ali is scheduled to be sentenced April 2.

He faces a maximum prison term of 21 years for voluntary manslaughter with a gun enhancement, though Judge Bruce F. Marrs could choose to give him less time.

Even if he receives the maximum sentence, Ali would likely be about 35 years old when released from prison.

Ali's girlfriend, Breeana Finley of Los Angeles, was charged with murder because prosecutors believed she served as the getaway driver for Ali and Hill.

Rather than risk a sentence of life without the possibility of parole if convicted at trial, Finley opted to take a plea bargain that carried an 11-year prison sentence.

In her testimony last week, Finley, 20, maintained she was innocent.

Because the jury acquitted Hill, it seems likely they would have also acquitted Finley, who seemed less culpable for Hammett's killing in the prosecution's theory of the case.

Finley and Ali testified last week that they traveled to Pomona with Hill the day of Hammett's killing to look at low-income apartments in the city. Finley was pregnant and the couple wanted to live together.

After briefly visiting an apartment complex, the group went to Groom Time because Hill said he wanted to buy marijuana from Hammett, according to Ali and Finley's testimony.

On the way there, Ali decided he would also ask Hammett about purchasing a quarter-pound marijuana to sell in smaller quantities.

"I just wanted to buy some weed and get out of there," Ali testified.

Jurors declined to comment after the hearing, as did Ali and Hill's prosecutor, Deputy District Attorney Ian Phan.

Ali's father, Ismail Ali, said "God is great" when asked for his reaction.

Omari Ali's attorney, Ray Newman, seemed less enthusiastic about the result, saying he was "terribly disappointed" Ali wasn't acquitted. He said he would appeal the case.

Hill's attorney, Roger Whitenhill, said, "I'm shocked in a good way."

The longtime Los Angeles County deputy public defender said Hill might be released from custody today.

Ali and Hammett met alone in a backroom office the day of Hammett's death, according to Ali, and the door to the office was closed during most of their conversation.

Ali said that after he told Hammett he didn't want to purchase his marijuana, he turned to walk out of the office.

But before he reached the door Hammett grabbed his shirt and spun him around, telling him he couldn't leave until Hammett allowed it, Ali testified.

Several people who were in the barbershop at the time of the shooting described hearing a scuffle in the backroom office, and heard Hammett repeatedly call out "folks," as if calling for help.

The office door opened slightly during the struggle, and three witnesses said they saw one of the men in the room holding a gun.

Two of the witnesses said it appeared Ali turned to leave the office but was pulled back by Hammett.

Another witness said that when the door opened, he saw Ali and Hill trying to rip the bag out of Hammett's hands. As the barber continued to resist, Ali pulled a gun from his waistband and shot Hammett, the witness said.

In prosecuting the case, Phan emphasized that Hammett's marijuana was missing from the office after the incident, and Phan accused Ali and Hill of taking the drugs.

But Ali and Hill's defense attorneys told jurors that one of Hammett's friends may have hidden the marijuana after the barber was shot.

The attorneys said the friend may have concealed the drugs before police arrived to keep the barber's drug sales secret for the sake of his reputation.

POMONA -- Testimony ended this afternoon in the murder trial of a Phillips Ranch woman who shot and killed her husband after she learned he was having an affair.

Prosecutors accuse Adrienne Davidson, 47, of planning for several weeks before shooting and killing 46-year-old Ezra Davidson as he slept on Jan. 1, 2009.

Adrienne Davidson testified this week that on the night of her husband's death she wanted to shoot herself because of grief over her spouse's affair, but at the last moment she turned the gun on her husband.

Her defense attorney argues that Adrienne Davidson killed her husband in the "heat of passion" and should be convicted of manslaughter, not murder.

Jurors will hear closing arguments from attorneys Monday in Pomona Superior Court, and afterward will begin deliberating.

This afternoon, jurors heard only about 20 minutes of testimony from three witnesses: Adrienne Davidson, her sister, and a Realtor who sold the Davidson family their home in Phillips Ranch.

Adrienne Davidson testified that her husband often shared details with her about his mistress, a college student about half his age.

He said the woman was "sexy" and attracted attention from other men when they were out, the wife said.

She also recalled that in his last words to her, Ezra Davidson said that if she couldn't deal with his affair, "it was (her) problem."

The wife's older sister, Michelle Butler, testified that her sister attempted suicide while she was a student at Spelman College in Atlanta.

Adrienne and Ezra Davidson had begun dating during their college years, but they temporarily broke up, leading Adrienne Davidson to slit her wrists and swallow pills, her sister testified.

Wendy Connelly, the couple's Realtor, testified that when the Davidson's purchased their home in 2007, Ezra Davidson was often "demeaning" toward his wife when she asked questions in the home-buying process.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- Prosecutors have charged a man with attempted murder and other crimes for allegedly choking his 84-year-old mother and trying to smother her with a pillow.

Lance Martin Nolan, a 50-year-old registered sex offender, pleaded not guilty to the charges Wednesday in West Valley Superior Court.

Investigative reports attached to Nolan's court file allege Nolan was intoxicated when he attacked his mother on Feb. 25 at the home they shared in Rancho Cucamonga.

Nolan's mother told a sheriff's deputy that she was at home watching TV in the 6200 block of Calloway Place when her son arrived at about 10 p.m., appearing enraged and "very, very drunk," according to the report.

"While she was seated on the couch, he immediately stood over her and with both hands grabbed her by the neck and started choking her," the report states.

The woman told investigators she tried to fend off her son, and began screaming for her life "as loud as she could."

"While she was screaming he grabbed a pillow and shoved it over her face," the report states. "Nolan pushed down on her pillow with such force that the victim believed he was trying to suffocate her."

The woman estimated that the attack continued for "a few minutes" before she was able to break free from her son. She ran to a neighbor's house and the neighbor called 9-1-1.

Sheriff's deputies said the woman did not appear to have any injuries, but there were a few blood drops on the front of her shirt, according to the report.

However, "it was obvious the victim had suffered great emotional injury because she was distraught and crying hysterically," the report states.

In 1996, Nolan was convicted of forcible sodomy in Orange County. The conviction would count as a strike under the state's three-strikes law if Nolan is convicted in the alleged attack on his mother.

About two hours after the alleged attack, sheriff's deputies found Nolan parked in a shopping center at Haven and Lemon avenues.

Nolan initially denied the incident with his mother occurred, but he later acknowledged the attack during an interview with investigators at the Rancho Cucamonga sheriff's station after his arrest.

Nolan told investigators that he had been drinking throughout the day, and when he came home he and his mother argued about money.

"He stated he has been under a lot of stress lately because he has recently lost his job, lost his house, lost his vehicle, lost his girlfriend and felt that he was a disappointment to his mother and family," the report states.

Nolan said that as the argument with his mother escalated, he grabbed her shoulders and shook her. The woman screamed, so he grabbed a pillow and put it over her face to muffle her shouts, Nolan told investigators.

"I asked him if he felt like his mother was in fear for her life ... he said, 'Hell yes,'" the report states. "He also stated that if he was in her position he would have feared for his life as well."

Nolan's sister told deputies she believed her bother was under mental strain. The woman said she believed her brother suffered from "severe depression," and said he had made comments in the past that he might kill himself.

Nolan remains jailed in lieu of $1.1 million bail at West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga.

POMONA -- Adrienne Davidson had a final argument with her husband over an affair he was having with his executive assistant, and she decided to kill herself.

The Phillips Ranch woman testified at her murder trial today that she walked from her bed to her closet and retrieved a pistol she had purchased about two weeks earlier.

She thought about killing herself in the closet, but decided against it because it would mess the carpet and wall paint.

She also considered then dismissed killing herself in the bathroom. She said she reflected on the room's "purpose" in everyday life and didn't like the thought of being found there.

She settled on shooting herself in bed, so that she could maintain some dignity in death, according to her testimony in Pomona Superior Court.

She walked to her bed and saw her husband, Ezra Davidson, sleeping there.

"He was lying there like he didn't have a care in the world," the wife testified. "I don't know what happened. I just shot him."

Authorities believe Ezra Davidson, 46, was killed instantly on Jan. 1, 2009 when his wife shot him in the back of the head at close range.

Wednesday was the fifth day of testimony in the murder trial of Adrienne Davidson, 47.

Her attorney argues that she killed her husband in the "heat of passion," and should be convicted of manslaughter, not murder, as prosecutors are seeking.

Ezra Davidson's death came after years of physically and mentally abusing his wife, the defense argues.

Adrienne Davidson said she first suspected her husband was having an affair in mid-December 2008, after she noticed in the manuscript of a book her husband was writing that one of the character's names was similar to that of her husband's secretary.

She said she confronted her husband and asked if he was having an affair with the woman, and he said he was.

"I don't remember all that was said, But I do remember I offered an open marriage" with some conditions, she testified.

Ezra Davidson said he wouldn't agree to any rules, his wife testified.

"I'm going to do what I want," he said, according to his wife.

After a sleepless night, Adrienne Davidson said she decided she would kill herself. She said she never considered divorcing her husband.

"To me, marriage is important," the wife testified. "I don't believe in divorce unless it's extreme circumstances."

She said she had attempted suicide five or six times in the past -- by swallowing pills, slitting her wrists and other methods.

Because of her failures in previous attempts, she decided she would shoot herself this time to make sure she died. She said she never considered killing her husband.

Only the law requiring a 10-day waiting period to obtain a gun after its purchase kept her from killing herself. By the time she got the weapon, the urge for suicide had passed, the woman testified.

About five days before she shot her husband, Adrienne Davidson said her husband brought up his affair in conversation, and told her she could choose between divorce and allowing him to keep a mistress, the wife testified.

"I said that I would live with the girlfriend," she testified.

She said she also discovered an e-mail Ezra Davidson sent to his mistress -- a college student half his age -- detailing the financial support he was providing her.

He was paying the woman's tuition and rent, as well as other expenses, the e-mail said.

On New Year's Eve, Ezra Davidson came home at 6 or 7 p.m. He told his wife he had been visiting his mistress' new apartment.

The husband and wife spent a pleasant evening together, the woman testified. They ate dinner, had sex, and watched New Year's Eve celebrations on TV.

As midnight approached, the couple poured champagne, made a toast, and began to count down. Midnight struck, and Adrienne Davidson said she expected a kiss from her husband. Instead, he was sending e-mails on his phone.

"I was saddened this time. I was hurt," the wife testified. "He couldn't take two seconds to give me a kiss before he sent his e-mail out."

Adrienne Davidson went to bed soon after, and she expected Ezra Davidson to follow her to the bedroom, but he didn't come.

Adrienne Davidson said she couldn't sleep, so she walked downstairs to check on her husband. He was sending text messages on his phone, she testified.

"That really hurt," the wife testified. "I felt crushed at that point."

She said she again decided she would kill herself.

Eventually, Ezra Davidson came upstairs to the bedroom. He fell asleep, but Adrienne Davidson said she was unable to. She said she woke her husband and confronted him about his affair.

She said she made three requests relating to his mistress: that he set aside holidays for his family, that he ask the girlfriend not to call on holidays, and that he get rid of nude photos of the woman. He denied all three requests, the wife testified.

She also asked him to consider the couple's children, an adult daughter and a young son. He said they have what they need, which Adrienne Davidson said she took as another "no" and as a slight against the family.

"I was just broken at that point," she testified. "He doesn't want me, he doesn't want his children. There's nothing left at that point."

It was after that conversation that Adrienne Davidson settled on suicide and retrieved the gun. She testified that she didn't consider killing her husband until moments before she shot him.

"I didn't have any intention of hurting my husband," she testified.

She said she still loves her husband, and now wishes she was dead. "I want to be with Ezra," she said.

Under cross-examination, the wife said she believed she should be punished for killing her husband, and even said she felt she should be found guilty of murder.

POMONA -- The jury failed to reach verdicts today in the case of two men charged with murder for the shooting death of barber Larry Hammett, the clerk in Judge Bruce F. Marrs' courtroom said.

The jury of eight women and four men is scheduled to resume deliberations Wednesday morning in Pomona Superior Court.

Omari Ali, 21, and Keyon Rasheed Hill, 20, are accused of killing Hammett, of Ontario, on July 27, 2008 after the barber resisted a robbery attempt at the Groom Time barbershop in Pomona.

By Melissa Pinion-Whitt

SAN BERNARDINO -- Prosecutors today declined to file charges against an Ontario police officer who shot and killed a Palmdale man at a strip mall in October.

Read the District Attorney's report on the shooting: Salgadoreport.pdf

The San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office said Marco Salgado, armed with what police thought was a handgun, gave officers no choice but to use deadly force because he refused to put his hands up and reached for his waistband.

"These officers had to make an instantaneous decision and their options were limited," prosecutors wrote in a report.

Salgado was inside the Liborio Market on G Street on Oct. 14 when someone noticed he was armed with what appeared to be a gun. Police later discovered it was a BB gun.

When officers arrived and had their guns drawn, Salgado and another man who was standing with him both put their hands up initially. But officers said Salgado then put his hands down.

"He reached toward his waist pulling his coat up and back, revealing a handgun," prosecutors said.

Ontario police Detective Patrick Birkett shot Salgado twice when he saw him reach for the gun. Birkett told investigators he heard Salgado say "it's only a BB gun" but Birkett didn't believe him.

Toxicology testing revealed Salgado had alcohol and tranquilizers in his system.

POMONA -- The case of a barber shot and killed in an alleged robbery is now in the hands of eight women and four men.

After hearing the last portion of closing arguments from attorneys this afternoon in Pomona Superior Court, the jury began deliberating the guilt of two young men charged with murder for the death of Larry Hammett, 46.

Hammett, of Ontario, was shot seven times in July 2008 at the Groom Time barbershop on Holt Avenue in Pomona in what prosecutors describe as a robbery.

Omari Ali, 21, and Keyon Rasheed Hill, 20, are charged with murder for Hammett's death.

The jury deliberated for about two hours today without reaching a verdict, and is set to continue deliberating Tuesday morning, said the clerk in Judge Bruce F. Marrs' courtroom.

On the witness stand last week, Ali described Hammett as the aggressor, and said the barber pulled a pistol on him after Ali declined to buy Hammett's marijuana.

Ali, of Los Angeles, testified that he feared for his life, so he wrestled the gun out of Hammett's hands and shot at him indiscriminately.

Ali's defense attorney, Ray Newman, told jurors in his closing argument that Hammett, a low-level marijuana dealer, usually sold to people his own age, and may have been insulted when Ali reportedly called his product low-grade.

"(Ali) went there to buy some drugs, and something happened," Newman said. "This man got angry and pulled a gun on him."

Deputy District Attorney Ian Phan called Ali's testimony "ridiculous" in his rebuttal to defense attorneys' closing arguments. Phan highlighted physical evidence and witness testimony he said proves Ali and Hill's guilt.

Hammett's seven gunshot wounds included shots to his back, shots in a downward trajectory, and a defensive wound to his hand -- all of which refute Ali's self-defense claims, Phan told the jury.

"The man has turned," Phan said. "He poses no danger to you."

Hammett's marijuana was missing from the barbershop's backroom office after he was shot, and his pockets were turned inside-out as if emptied by robbers, according to witness testimony last week.

Defense attorneys told jurors the marijuana was missing from the barbershop because one of Hammett's friends cleared the drugs out of the room before police arrived to protect Hammett's image.

In his final remarks to the jury, Phan focused on the testimony of a barbershop apprentice who said he witnessed the shooting.

The apprentice, one of Hammett's close friends, said on the witness stand last week that he heard a struggle coming from the backroom office where Hammett was reportedly meeting with the defendants.

The man said the office door opened during the struggle, and he saw Ali and Hill trying to rip a large bag of marijuana out of Hammett's hands.

As Hammett continued to resist, Ali pulled out a pistol and shot the barber several times, the apprentice testified.

The jury has the option of convicting Ali and Hill of first-degree murder, second-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter or involuntary manslaughter.

The duo's alleged getaway driver, Breeana Finley, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter last month and was sentenced to 11 years in state prison.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- Arraignment was delayed today for a woman accused of bribing a San Bernardino County sheriff's deputy after a drunken driving arrest.

Marizella Perez, 28, was scheduled to be arraigned today, but the hearing was delayed to March 8, according to the court clerk's office.

Perez, of Rancho Cucamonga, is accused of bribing a sheriff's deputy, offering him $1,000 to let her go after she was arrested in September on suspicion of driving drunk.

The woman was pulled over in the area of Foothill and Day Creek boulevards because her car didn't have license plates.

A breath test reportedly yielded a blood-alcohol measurement of 0.287, more than three and a half times the legal limit.

RIVERSIDE -- A Riverside County pastor convicted of selling methamphetamine and keeping a stolen pistol was sentenced today to two years in state prison.

Anthony Garduno, 51, pleaded guilty to four felonies and a misdemeanor in January in Riverside Superior Court. Judge Gordon R. Burkhart sentenced him today.

Garduno came under suspicion in December when former a former parishioner at Garduno's Home Gardens church accused the priest of sexual assault.

When Riverside County sheriff's deputies obtained a warrant on the basis of the sex allegations and searched the church, they discovered the drugs and the pistol.

The priest was shot several times in an armed robbery at his church in September. Five men accused in the incident are awaiting trial for attempted murder and other charges.

Garduno is a self-identified bishop in the Old Catholic Church, which split from the Roman Catholic Church in the 1870s.

LOS ANGELES -- A Claremont doughnut shop owner pleaded not guilty today to charges that he purchased ivory from endangered African elephants on eBay.

Federal prosecutors accuse Moun Chau, 50, of purchasing the ivory from a seller in Thailand, disguising it in shipments by claiming the imported packages were "gifts" containing "toys."

Federal authorities said they discovered numerous ivory specimens at Chau's doughnut shop when it was raided.

Chau, of Montclair, was notified of his court date by letter, and appeared out of custody today in a downtown Los Angeles federal courtroom.

He posted $5,000 bail and a trial date was scheduled for April 27, said Thom Mrozek, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Chau faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted of the ivory smuggling, which allegedly took place over three months in 2006.

The alleged seller, Samart Chokchoyma, has also been indicted by federal authorities but remains in Thailand because he also faces criminal charges there.