Author: Terri Vermeulen Keith

TORRANCE – An Inglewood man was sentenced Wednesday to three consecutive terms of life in prison without the possibility of parole for murdering three people and trying to kill two others, including his pregnant girlfriend, in two separate shootings in Gardena and Lynwood on the same day. Selvin Fabian Salazar, 32, was convicted last month of the July 31, 2018, shootings of 28-year-old Dolores Sanchez; his friend, 28-year-old Francisco Montes; and Saith Pedraza, who died just over two years later at age 39 after a gunshot wound to his neck that left him a paraplegic. “You’re a cold-blooded killer,” Superior…

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LONG BEACH – A now-former Long Beach Unified School District safety officer who fired into a moving vehicle about a block away from a high school, killing an 18-year-old woman inside the car, was sentenced Tuesday to three years in prison — time he has already served in custody. Eddie Gonzalez, 54, pleaded no contest to the less serious charge of voluntary manslaughter Aug. 20, just over four months after jurors deadlocked in his murder trial. He could have faced up to six years in prison under his plea deal. But during his sentencing hearing Tuesday morning, he received the…

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LOS ANGELES – A nurse was ordered Friday to stand trial on murder charges stemming from a high-speed, fiery crash at a Windsor Hills intersection that killed six people, including an unborn baby, in the Windsor Hills area just under two years ago. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Eleanor J. Hunter rejected the defense’s request to dismiss murder and vehicular manslaughter charges against Nicole Lorraine Linton or to replace those counts with misdemeanor charges. The judge also turned down the defense’s bid for bail to be set for the 39-year-old woman, saying that she believes Linton is a “danger…

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LOS ANGELES – A man who broke into Mayor Karen Bass’ official residence in Windsor Square while she was inside with family members pleaded no contest Wednesday to a felony vandalism charge and was immediately sentenced to two years probation. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Armenui Amy Ashvanian also ordered Ephraim Matthew Hunter, 29, to spend at least three months in a drug treatment/mental health program and six to nine months in a halfway house and to pay more than $15,000 in restitution. He was also ordered to stay away from Bass, her home and Los Angeles City Hall…

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LOS ANGELES – An Orange County Superior Court judge who allegedly admitted killing his wife was ordered Thursday to stand trial on a murder charge stemming from her shooting during an argument at their Anaheim Hills home. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Eleanor J. Hunter rejected a defense motion to dismiss the case against Jeffrey Ferguson, who is charged in the Aug. 3, 2023, killing of his 65-year-old wife, Sheryl. Defense attorney T. Edward Welbourn argued that there was insufficient evidence to require his client to stand trial on the murder charge, noting that the only eyewitness — one…

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LOS ANGELES – A 55-year-old man convicted of the 1989 cold-case murder of a woman whose body was found in a vacant lot west of the Harbor (110) Freeway in the Westlake district was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Superior Court Judge Eleanor Hunter called the September 1989 killing of Monica Wertlieb “an absolutely atrocious crime,” and noted that Orlando Dejesus Arredondo Donis did not show an “ounce of regret” when he was subsequently interviewed by Los Angeles police. Arredondo Donis was convicted on April 29 of first-degree murder, with jurors also finding true…

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COMPTON – A man who struck and killed a 16-year-old boy walking at night in a crosswalk in Long Beach was sentenced Friday to six months in county jail. Superior Court Judge Sean D. Coen also ordered Kevin Chris Dahl, 35, of Lakewood, to perform 30 days of community labor, two years probation and a driver’s safety course, despite opposition from the victim’s parents to the plea deal. Dahl pleaded no contest on Jan. 23 to a felony count of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence in connection with the Sept. 4, 2021, crash that killed Millikan High School senior Aiden…

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Los Angeles City Councilman Curren Price — who is accused of voting on projects involving developers tied to his wife’s consulting firm and then failing to report the connections — pleaded not guilty Monday to charges of theft by embezzlement, perjury and conflict of interest. Price entered his plea after Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Craig Richman rejected the defense’s legal challenge to the 10 charges against the councilman. In a brief statement to reporters after the hearing, the city councilman maintained his innocence and said he looks forward to proving it in a court of law. The councilman…

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