A gunman convicted of murder in a series of shootings in and around a Southern California campground that left a pharmaceutical scientist dead and spanned nearly two years was sentenced Wednesday to 119 years to life, his lawyer said.
Anthony Rauda, 46, was found guilty last month of second-degree murder, attempted murder and burglary in the string of shootings at Malibu Creek State Park from Nov. 3, 2016, to June 22, 2018.
Prosecutors had argued that Rauda preyed on unsuspecting drivers and campers around the roughly 8,000-acre park in the Santa Monica Mountains.
Rauda’s lawyer, Nick Ochorocha, said he appreciated a moving victim impact statement given Wednesday by the widow of the scientist, Tristan Beaudette, and the judge’s “class and professionalism.”
Beaudette, 35, was fatally shot as he slept inside a tent with his two daughters.
The girls, then ages 2 and 4, were not hurt. They were identified as victims in two of the attempted murder counts Rauda was convicted of.
Ochorocha declined to comment further. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Rauda was also found guilty of firing at a Tesla that was being driven near the park.
He was arrested in October 2018 in a series of burglaries and later indicted in the shooting spree.
Rauda was acquitted of seven counts of attempted murder, and the jury found him guilty of second-degree murder, a lesser charge than prosecutors had sought.
Source: NBC