Image via WikipediaLOS ANGELES – A 21-year-old man charged with the bludgeoning death of a friend pleaded no contest today to
first-degree murder.
Deputy District Attorney Hubert Yun said Adam Quintana also admitted an allegation that the murder was done willfully, deliberately and with premeditation. The
defendant also admitted an allegation that he personally used a
sledgehammer during the commission of the murder.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Ronald Rose said Quintana will be sentenced on March 1. The defendant faces a sentence of 26 years to life in state prison. Quintana pleaded “open” to the court, meaning the
plea was not part of a negotiated settlement with the District Attorney’s Office. Jury selection was slated to begin in the case this morning, the prosecutor said. The defendant killed victim Fernando Garcia, 20, with a sledgehammer on Nov. 17, 2008. The victim, who was bound at the wrists with the power cord of a
video game console, sustained multiple blows to the head, the prosecutor said, adding that the motive for the murder remains unclear. Officers of the
Los Angeles Police Department were alerted to the location of the crime and, subsequently, the defendant was linked to the murder when
DNA analysis confirmed that the victim’s blood was on his shoes.
Image via WikipediaLOS ANGELES – A 21-year-old man charged with the bludgeoning death of a friend pleaded no contest today to first-degree murder. Deputy District Attorney Hubert Yun said Adam Quintana also admitted an allegation that the murder was done willfully, deliberately and with premeditation. The defendant also admitted an allegation that he personally used a sledgehammer during the commission of the murder. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Ronald Rose said Quintana will be sentenced on March 1. The defendant faces a sentence of 26 years to life in state prison. Quintana pleaded “open” to the court, meaning the plea was not part of a negotiated settlement with the District Attorney’s Office. Jury selection was slated to begin in the case this morning, the prosecutor said. The defendant killed victim Fernando Garcia, 20, with a sledgehammer on Nov. 17, 2008. The victim, who was bound at the wrists with the power cord of a video game console, sustained multiple blows to the head, the prosecutor said, adding that the motive for the murder remains unclear. Officers of the Los Angeles Police Department were alerted to the location of the crime and, subsequently, the defendant was linked to the murder when DNA analysis confirmed that the victim’s blood was on his shoes.
