A man was sentenced Wednesday to 12 years in state prison for a break-in at a Long Beach home in which his female cohort was shot to death by an 80-year-old homeowner.
Gus Polly Adams, 28, was found guilty Aug. 22 of one count each of first- degree residential robbery and first-degree residential burglary for the July 22, 2014, break-in.
Adams was acquitted of a murder charge stemming from the shooting death of 28-year-old accomplice Andrea Miller.
Adams and Miller were burglarizing the Bixby Knolls area home in the 3900 block of Country Club Drive when Thomas Greer arrived home just before 9 p.m. that night.
Prosecutors said the pair attacked Greer — whose home had been burglarized on at least two prior occasions — assaulting him and throwing him to the floor. Police said Miller continued to beat Greer, while Adams tried to break into the homeowner’s safe.
Miller eventually stopped hitting Greer and joined Adams in breaking open the safe and the two ultimately grabbed $5,000 in cash from inside, prosecutors said.
Greer was trapped in the house with the burglars because his front door was blocked by Adams’ mother and a child who were part of the burglary team, according to authorities.
Greer retrieved a small-caliber gun from his bedroom and fired three shots inside his home as Adams and Miller ran. Bullets struck Miller once in the chest and once in her right knee. She fell at the back of truck parked in the garage and then ran into the alley where she fell again.
Greer said he dragged her back into the garage, hoping Adams would come back to help her.
“She says, ‘Don’t shoot me, I’m pregnant — I’m going to have a baby,”‘ Greer said then. “The lady didn’t run as fast as the man, so I shot her in the back twice. She’s dead … but he got away.”
An autopsy showed Miller was not pregnant.
When Adams returned, prosecutors said he grabbed Greer’s gun and cell phone before making his escape down the alley to a car driven by his mother, who was acting as a lookout.
Greer said he believed Miller and Adams were responsible for the earlier robberies and might return in the future.
Prosecutors said Greer was within his legal rights to shoot Miller. They noted that he suffered a broken collarbone and cuts and bruises in the assault.
Adams’ 52-year-old mother, Ruby Adams, pleaded no contest earlier this year to one count of first-degree residential burglary and was sentenced to three years in prison.
–City News Service