| For Immediate Release Case # 06ZF0138
January 16, 2009 |
Susan Kang Schroeder Public Affairs Counsel Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718 Farrah Emami |
THIRD SAN DIEGO MAN SENTENCED TO LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE FOR SUPER BOWL SUNDAY MURDER OF SUSPECTED IRVINE DRUG DEALER
SANTA ANA – The third and final co-defendant in the Super Bowl Sunday murder of a suspected Irvine drug dealer was sentenced today to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Bernard Smith, 44, Vista, San Diego, was convicted Oct. 2, 2008, of special circumstances murder during the commission of a robbery, second degree robbery, transportation of a controlled substance, possession of a firearm by a felon, and a true finding on the sentencing enhancement for the personal discharge of a firearm causing death.
Co-defendant Stephen Bennett, 37, Vista, San Diego, was convicted Oct. 2, 2008, of special circumstances murder during the commission of a robbery, second degree robbery, and the transportation of a controlled substance, and his two 1992 prior robbery strike convictions were found true. Bennett was sentenced Dec. 12, 2008, to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Co-defendant Brandon Turner, 23, Oceanside, was found guilty by a jury on April 14, 2008, of felonies for special circumstances murder during the commission of a robbery, second degree robbery, and the transportation of a controlled substance and a true finding on the sentencing enhancement for the personal discharge of a firearm causing death. Turner was sentenced on Sept. 19, 2008, to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
On Feb. 5, 2006, Bennett, Smith, and Turner devised a plan to steal money and drugs from a drug dealer. Bennett called suspected drug dealer Brian Gray to set up a meeting under the pretense of purchasing drugs. The defendants drove from Vista to the Irvine home of the victim with the intention of stealing drugs from Gray. Turner and Smith shot the victim several times, killing him. The defendants stole cocaine from the victim’s home and fled the scene.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Ebrahim Baytieh of the Homicide Unit prosecuted this case.
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