A California Man Killed Five People At Random. Eight Years Later, Police Still Don’t Know Why.
A California man shot and killed five people at random. Now, he will spend the rest of his life behind bars.
Recently, a Los Angeles County judge sentenced Alexander Hernandez, 42, to multiple life sentences without the possibility of parole for the shooting deaths of Gloria Tovar, 59, Sergio Sanchez, 35, Gilardo Morales, 48, Mariana Franco, 23, and Michael Planells, 29.
Hernandez was found guilty and convicted of five counts of murder with special circumstances, 11 counts of attempted murder and other charges, including possession of a firearm by a felon and animal cruelty.
“Alexander Hernandez’s killing spree affected many families and traumatized the community. With this sentence, he will be held accountable for the pain he caused and will never threaten anyone in the community again,” said Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón, according to Los Angeles Times.
Hernandez had been on a killing spree between the months of March and August 2014, which led authorities to classify him as a serial killer at the time.
The defendant fatally shot his victims while in their cars, walking in the neighborhood park and in a parking lot.
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The killings first started with Hernandez shooting Sanchez as he drove on the 210 Freeway in Sylmar, California. Investigators later tracked down the defendant’s car, which had a sticker of a white skull and the numerals “666” on it.
In another instance, Hernandez shot a 19-year-old man sitting in his car after leaving his high school prom and dropping off his girlfriend. As a result, the teenager was partially paralyzed. In another incident, he opened fire on four people, including two 12-year-old children in a car with their parents, reported KTLA.
After the defendant’s arrest in August 2014, prosecutors sought the death penalty but later dropped it due to Gascón’s policy barring prosecutors from pursuing capital punishment.
The judge ordered Hernandez to serve all the life sentences consecutively.
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