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LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Two East Coast men were sentenced Friday to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the drug-related killings of three men who were gunned down inside a home in an upscale Porter Ranch gated community in 2019.
Travis Reid, a 45-year-old Maryland resident, and Kenneth Peterson, a 46-year-old North Carolina resident, professed their innocence shortly before Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Curtis B. Rappe handed down their sentences.
The two were convicted last December of first-degree murder for the Feb. 18, 2019, killings of Gary Davidson, 39, who owned and lived at the home; Benny Lopez, 46, of Anaheim; and Jesus Perez, 34, of Perris.
Jurors also found true the special circumstance allegation of multiple murders, along with gun use allegations against the two. Reid and Peterson were also convicted of one count of attempted robbery of Davidson.
Then-Deputy District Attorney Victor Avila told jurors during his opening statement that Reid was "out a lot of money" when a shipment of cocaine from California was intercepted by inspectors with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and that Reid "blamed Gary Davidson for the loss." The prosecutor said in his closing argument that Reid was aggravated for losing more than $370,000, and urged jurors to hold the two men accountable.
Reid's attorney, Tony Garcia, told the panel in his opening statement last year that "there's going to be all sorts of reasonable doubt" involving his client, noting that "not a single person saw Mr. Reid shoot anybody" and that no one was going to even be able to put his client at the scene.
Peterson's attorney, Steven Giedzinski, told the jury they would hear evidence about "lots of connections" between Reid and Davidson, but not between Peterson and Davidson. He said the evidence would show that the government had not proven the case against his client.
The victims were found dead when officers went to the residence in the 20300 block of Via Galileo on a report of unknown trouble, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
Reid and Peterson were charged in June 2019 in connection with the killings.
The two men each spoke during their sentencing, with each expressing their condolences to the victims' families but denying that they were responsible for the crime.
"I'm innocent, I'm innocent," Peterson said moments before being sentenced. "I'm truly sorry for your loss."
Reid also denied involvement in the crime, saying that he had nothing to gain from the killing of the three men.
"In no way did I intend to commit malice or harm or kill anyone," he said.
The judge also heard from family members of the three victims.
Davidson's daughter, Saniyah, said through tears that she was 10 years old "when his life was taken from me."
She called him her "best friend" and "protector," saying that she never got to say goodbye to him.
The girl's mother, Karen Smith, said, "It broke my heart to know how much time and effort was put into taking his life."
She said the most important question for the two defendants is "Was it worth it? Was it worth it?"
Lopez's widow, Jahayra Vega, told the judge that the couple's daughter will grow up without her father.
Vega said she can only hope that she can say that "justice prevailed."
Through a Spanish interpreter, Perez's mother, Cecilia, said that she was stripped "of a piece of my heart" when her son was killed.
"For me, every day is a gaping emptiness and remembering him," she said.
Perez's wife, Claribel, called her husband "the world's great dad" to their two children, and said she had to explain to them that "some bad people took their dad's life away."
"Ever since that day, we have lived in anguish," Perez's sister, Cynthia, told the judge.
She called her brother's killing "pointless and senseless."
She said she hoped the defendants would understand the gravity of the harm they had caused, and urged them to repent "for taking innocent lives."
Both men are expected to appeal their convictions.