BALDWIN PARK >> A judge sentenced a West Covina man to more than a quarter-century in prison Thursday for the 2013 murder a transgender woman at a Baldwin Park motel, officials said.
A Pomona Superior Court jury convicted Stephen Gonzales, 30, of first-degree murder in January of the Sept. 9, 2013, beating death of 26-year-old Melody Smith at a motel in Baldwin Park where she had been staying. The victim was listed in coroner’s records under birth name of Vanhxay Inthichack.
At his sentencing Thursday, Pomona Superior Court Judge Robert Martinez sentenced Gonzales to 26 years to life in prison.
Prosecutors alleged Gonzales killed Smith during a robbery, according to Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Sarah Ardalani.
But the jury acquitted Gonzales of a robbery charge, and also found untrue the special circumstance allegation of murder during the coarse of a robbery, officials said. Gonzales was convicted of an additional count of petty theft.

PHOTO: Melody Smith (Courtesy)