| For Immediate Release Case # 10ZF0087
April 22, 2010 |
Susan Kang Schroeder Chief of Staff Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718 Farrah Emami |
MAN INDICTED FOR EXECUTION-STYLE
DOUBLE MURDER OF STANTON
SALES ASSOCIATE AND SECRETARY
SANTA ANA – A Garden Grove man was indicted today for the double murder of a Stanton sales associate and his longtime secretary. Hilbert Pineil Thomas, 39, has been indicted on two felony counts of special circumstances murder. The special circumstances include multiple murders, murder during the commission of robbery, and murder during the commission of burglary. He is also charged with one felony count each of second degree robbery, second degree commercial burglary, and the unlawful taking of a vehicle. Thomas faces sentencing enhancements for the personal discharge of a firearm causing death.
If convicted on all counts, the defendant faces a minimum sentence of life without the possibility of parole. The special circumstances in this case also make Thomas eligible for the death penalty. Thomas is being held without bail and is scheduled to be arraigned on the indictment April 30, 2010, at 9:00 a.m. in Department C-5, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana.
The Orange County District Attorney’s Office released a press release Oct. 30, 2009, with the following information:
On the morning of Feb. 2, 2009, Thomas is accused of walking into the Golden Sun Homes business office on Beach Boulevard in Stanton. He is accused of shooting Matthew Francis Scott, a sales associate and son of the business co-owner, and long-time secretary Elizabeth Ann Palmer execution-style in the head. The defendant is accused of leaving the scene in a Lexus sedan belonging to Palmer.
On Oct. 28, 2009, after months of searching for the vehicle, police found the stolen Lexus at the El Dorado Inn on Lincoln Avenue in Anaheim. Evidence from the vehicle led to the defendant’s identification and arrest.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Ebrahim Baytieh of the Homicide Unit is prosecuting this case.
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