Ex-Con Who Killed Drug Counselor Sentenced to Life in Prison

By City News Service:

An ex-con who killed a San Jacinto drug counselor with whom he once worked was sentenced Monday to life in prison without parole.

Jury selection for the trial of 37-year-old Corey Lamont Macedon was underway Friday when the prosecution and defense informed Riverside County Superior Court Judge Angel Bermudez that a plea deal had been reached in the case.

Under the terms, Macedon admitted to the Oct. 14, 2011, murder of 48- year-old Theron Brison. Along with pleading guilty to first-degree murder, the defendant was convicted of special circumstance allegations of killing to commit a felony and killing during a robbery.

In exchange for his admissions, the District Attorney’s Office withdrew its intent to seek the death penalty for the defendant.

Bermudez certified the plea agreement Monday and imposed the stipulated sentence.

Macedon was the principal in the deadly attack on Brison, according to prosecutors. His cousin and codefendant, 36-year-old Davel D. Walker, was convicted of the same charges in October 2013 and was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

According to sheriff’s investigators, Macedon and the victim had worked together at the MFI Recovery Center, a substance abuse counseling facility near Santa Fe Street and Esplanade Avenue. Macedon lost his job a short time before Brison’s death because the defendant was caught charging patients for services that were free and pocketing the money.

Prosecutors allege that Macedon talked Brison into going with him to another location and then -- with Walker’s help -- ambushed the unsuspecting man, beating, tying and gagging him. Brison died of asphyxiation.

The defendants stole his pickup, wallet and bass guitar, according to court papers. Several computers were also taken from the drug clinic.

The vehicle was later found abandoned, and Macedon was recorded on security cameras at a Big 5 Sporting Goods store using Brison’s credit card, according to investigators.

The victim, a resident of Moreno Valley, was the bass player for the funk band “Thee Ram Jam,” which played Inland Empire clubs.

Macedon has a 2002 felony conviction for auto theft, according to court records.

(Image via Shutterstock)