CALIFORNIA, June 20: A Windsor man who admitted going on a violent three-day crime spree in 2007, killing one convenience store clerk and shooting three others including two Nepalis, was sentenced on Thursday to one of the longest prison terms ever recorded in Sonoma County, California, The Press Democrat reported. Javier Peña, 39, agreed to a sentence of life in prison with no possibility of parole -- and waived all his rights to appeal -- while prosecutors agreed not to pursue the death penalty. [break]
In total, Peña was ordered to serve 59 years in prison, plus 100-years-to-life, plus three life-with-parole terms and life in prison without the possibility of parole. Numerically, the longest sentence ever handed down in Sonoma County came a decade ago, according to Press Democrat archives, although others have received life-without-parole sentences.
In a plea deal reached in February, Peña admitted murdering Bill´s Market owner Gurdip Singh, 56, on November 12, 2007 and wounding his son, Sarabjit, 28, who was left permanently paralyzed by the shooting in the Cleveland Avenue store.
Peña also accepted responsibility for shooting Larkfield minimart clerk Phurba Sherpa four times on November 10 of that year, and following Manoj Shrestha, 43, home from his job at a Fast and Easy mart three days later before shooting him in the chest.
In all, Peña pleaded guilty to 12 felony counts and more than four dozen sentencing enhancements that amounted to a guarantee he will never again experience life outside prison walls.
Peña didn´t make any statements during the sentencing hearing.
In a courtroom filled with two victims and about 20 members of Peña´s family, Judge Ken Gnoss documented each count, each enhancement and each penalty Peña faced.
For the first-degree murder of Singh, Peña was ordered to serve a life sentence with no possibility of parole.
“This will be consecutive to any other sentence imposed in this case,” Gnoss told him.
Afterward, Peña shook hands with his lawyers and waved to his relatives, including his tearful mother, before being removed from the courtroom by bailiffs.
Two of Peña´s victims read statements in court describing how their lives have changed since they were shot.
The Singhs didn´t attend the hearing. Prosecutor Diana Gomez said Sarabjit, now in a wheelchair, was too ill to come to court on Thursday.
She said that although Peña has accepted responsibility and will serve a just sentence, the victims must live with the damage his actions caused.
“They can take some small comfort that he will never do this again,” she said.
Sherpa said he was shot four times in the leg, shattering a thigh bone into seven pieces and requiring two surgeries. He said he has struggled with depression and feelings of vulnerability since.
“I became very helpless and entirely dependent on my friends for even small things,” the Nepal native said.
Shrestha wiped tears as an interpreter read his letter describing how his parents became ill from the strain of having their son hospitalized for three months. His father died in March, which he attributed partially to the stress.
Peña´s attorneys apologized to the victims, their families, the community and the criminal justice system for his actions.