Two Sentenced to LWOP for Community College Parking Lot Slaying

Two men convicted of robbing and fatally shooting a 31-year-old man at a Los Angeles Valley College parking lot have been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced. Deputy District Attorney Edward Nison said Raheen Ahab Taylor, 33, and Derrick Phillip Wilson, 27, were each found guilty on July 10 of first-degree murder with a special circumstance allegation of murder in the commission of a robbery and three counts of second-degree robbery. Both were sentenced in case LA078365.

On the evening of Jan. 25, 2014, Taylor and Wilson were in the community college parking lot where they had agreed to buy marijuana from three men, including Ricardo Zetino, according to court testimony. After meeting, both defendants instead produced handguns and stole the drugs from the men, the prosecutor said. Zetino was shot to death as he attempted to block Taylor and Wilson’s escape, according to evidence presented at the jury trial. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department investigated the case.

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