Appeals Denied For South Bay Man Convicted Of Killing Ex's New Beau In Hawthorne

LOS ANGELES, CA — A former Gardena resident convicted of fatally shooting his ex-girlfriend's new boyfriend in Hawthorne was Wednesday denied a review of his case by the California Supreme Court.

Donte Bay McNeil was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the July 16, 2014, killing of Azaam Stallsworth, who was targeted while driving with his girlfriend in an alley near South Prairie Avenue.

In a Feb. 1 ruling, a three-justice panel from California's 2nd District Court of Appeal rejected the defense's contention that insufficient evidence supported the special circumstance allegation of murder while lying in wait against McNeil.

"Here, we find the evidence supports the jury's conclusion that defendant engaged in a substantial period of watching and waiting," the appellate court panel found in its six-page ruling.

The justices noted that McNeil was armed with a gun and entered the alley at the precise time that his ex-girlfriend and Stallsworth entered the alley from the opposite direction. The obvious inference is that McNeil had been watching her home from nearby and decided to attack in the relatively secluded alley instead of the busy street in front of her home, according to the ruling.

Stallsworth's girlfriend was not wounded.

— City News Service, photo via Shutterstock