| For Immediate Release Case # 05NF1463 July 30, 2007 |
Contact: Farrah Emami Spokesperson Office: 714-347-8405 Cell: 714-323-4486 |
60-YEAR-OLD MAN SENTENCED TO
LIFE IN PRISON FOR MURDERING HIS OLDER
BROTHER AND SISTER-IN-LAW
SANTA ANA – A 60-year-old Victorville man was sentenced today to life without the possibility of parole consecutive to an additional 65 years to life in prison for murdering his brother and his sister-in-law while living with them in their La Habra home. Alfred Renteria was convicted on May 2, 2007 of two felony counts of murder with sentencing enhancements for committing multiple murders and the personal discharge of a firearm causing death.
On April 7, 2005, Renteria shot and murdered his 71-year-old brother, James Renteria, and his 67-year-old sister-in-law, Bernice Renteria, with whom he had been living for three months. The victims were suffering from various medical conditions and allowed the defendant to live with them in exchange for care and assistance as they got older. When the victims told the defendant that he needed to move out of the home, the defendant tried to convince the couple to let him stay. He later recorded his mounting anger and hatred for them in a journal, writing out the pros and cons of murdering them.
After being frustrated at his failure to convince his brother to let him continue living in the home, the defendant took a gun and shot his brother in the back of the head as the victim sat on the couch watching television. The defendant then shot his sister-in-law in the bathroom, and dragged her murdered body into the bedroom. Renteria continued to live in the home for four days after the murder with the bodies still in the house.
When the defendant finally left the home, he stole the victims’ credit cards, checkbooks, and other personal items. He was later arrested after being caught using his brother’s credit card to check in to a Best Western in Nye County, Nevada.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Steve McGreevy of the Homicide Unit prosecuted this case.
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