Life Without Parole Handed To Man For Moreno Valley Home-Invasion Murder

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, Ca - A gang member who gunned down a Moreno Valley man during a home invasion robbery was sentenced today to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Deontray Robinson, 26, of Palm Desert was convicted in November of the 2011 slaying of 29-year-old Jerry L. Mitchell Jr.

Riverside County prosecutors had sought a death sentence for Robinson.

But after jurors deadlocked on a verdict in his penalty trial, the District Attorney's Office decided to forgo further proceedings and accept the default sentence of life behind bars without the possibility of parole. Superior Court Judge David Gunn imposed the term during a hearing at the Riverside Hall of Justice.

Robinson's co-defendant, 40-year-old Romaine Ulyses Martin, is slated to be sentenced on April 22.

Both defendants were convicted, in separate trials, of first-degree murder, with jurors finding true special circumstance allegations of killing for the benefit of a street gang and killing a witness to a crime.

According to prosecutors, the pair targeted Mitchell because they learned from a fellow member of the Los Angeles-based Black P Stone Bloods gang that he was loaded with cash. Martin and Robinson attacked the victim on the night of May 27, 2011, outside his apartment in the 12000 block of Carnation Lane, where they pistol-whipped him until he managed to run into his residence and barricade himself in the bathroom.

Martin fired a shot into the space before he and Robinson left the location, taking a number of Mitchell's belongings with them, according to the prosecution. There was no bundle of cash in the victim's possession.

After the assailants left, Mitchell went to a neighbor's apartment and called 911, then returned to his apartment to await the arrival of sheriff's deputies. While he was waiting, Robinson came back and fired multiple shots at
Mitchell, who died at the scene, according to prosecutors and police.

Robinson has a prior conviction for burglary in Riverside County, while Martin has prior convictions for robbery, being a felon in possession of a firearm and driving under the influence, according to court records.

--City News Service