Aariel Maynor, 30, pleaded guilty on Thursday to the murder of Jacqueline Avant, 81, whom he allegedly shot and killed during a home invasion robbery that shocked Los Angeles as an example of lenient criminal justice policy gone wrong.
Avant was the wife of music legend Clarence Avant, and one of the most prominent philanthropists in the black community.
Her death shocked Hollywood, which had generally supported the Black Lives Matter movement, as it demanded cuts to police funding and reforms to the prison system.
As Breitbart News reported in December 2021:
Police caught Maynor after he allegedly shot himself in the foot after invading a nearby property.
He was released from state prison in September under parole supervision after serving a four-year sentence for robbery, and had earlier been sentenced to five years for a violent robbery.
The Los Angeles Times reported Thursday:
The man accused of killing Jacqueline Avant in her Beverly Hills home last year pleaded guilty to murder and weapons charges on Thursday, authorities said.
…
“This crime continues to shock the conscience. Mrs. Avant’s death was a tragic loss felt by our entire community,” Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. George Gascón said in a statement.
Maynor pleaded guilty to murder, attempted murder, possession of a firearm by a felon and two counts of burglary. He will face more than 100 years in prison at his sentencing hearing on March 30, Gascón said.
…
Though California law requires most older inmates or those who have served 20 consecutive years in state prison to be eligible for parole, Maynor will not be eligible for early release because he has two prior strike convictions, said Greg Risling, a spokesman for the district attorney’s office.
Gascón, who benefited from millions of dollars in campaign spending by left-wing billionaire George Soros, and who has pursued radical “criminal justice reform” policies, blamed the “system” for her death when asked about it last year.
As Breitbart News noted: “Rather than blaming the alleged murderer himself, or lenient policies that have seen thousands of violent criminals released from prison early or without posting bail upon arrest, Gascón blamed the “system” and hinted at the need for gun control.”
Gascón currently faces a second effort to recall him from office, after the first one failed to collect enough signatures last year.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. His recent book, RED NOVEMBER, tells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary from a conservative perspective. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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