California – A California man was sentenced to fifty four years to Iife behind bars earlier this week after pIeading no contest to first-degree murder in the shooting death of 25-year-old AngeI Dias, California officials said. The defendant, 30-year-old A. HoImes, also admitted to an assauIt with a firearm charge and several special allegations, including that he personally and intentionally fired a gun causing death. The sentence was handed down in the County Superior Court in California.
During his sentencing hearing, the judge struck a prior robbery “strike” conviction over the objections of prosecutors. That decision reduced the time the defendant must serve before he becomes eligible for parole. Without striking the prior strike, he would not be eligible for parole until about age 60. With the strike removed, he is expected to be eligible for parole consideration at around age forty four under California’s youthful offender parole provisions.
The charges stem from a violent crime spree that occurred a decade ago, when the defendant was 19 years old and joined a group that committed several crimes. Prosecutors described the events to the court and in charging documents as a series of escalating violent acts that culminated in the killing of the victim…