A man indicted for the murders of a gas station clerk in Los Feliz and the owner of a medical marijuana dispensary in Mar Vista will not face the death penalty if convicted, the prosecution announced Wednesday.
Kayshon Moody, 26, now faces a maximum of life in prison without the possibility of parole if he is convicted of killing of M.D. Mizu Rahman, 34, who was shot Jan. 17, 2017, at a Chevron station in the 2100 block of North Vermont Avenue, along with the Jan. 18, 2017, shooting death of Ovik Oganesyan, 50, at a medical marijuana dispensary at 12480 W. Venice Blvd.
The murder charges include the special circumstance allegations of multiple murders and murder during the commission of a robbery. Moody is also charged with three counts of second-degree robbery — two involving Rahman and Oganesyan and one involving a separate robbery on Jan. 17, 2017.
Prosecutors also opted against seeking the death penalty against a second man, James A. Eastland, 22, who is also charged with Oganesyan’s murder and the special circumstance allegation of murder during the commission of a robbery.
Eastland — who is also charged with two counts of second-degree robbery involving Oganesyan and a separate robbery the same day — is not charged with the killing of Rahman, who lived in Los Angeles after coming to the United States from Bangladesh. He could also face a maximum of life in prison without the possibility of parole if he is convicted.
The two were arrested and charged in January 2017 and then indicted last December.
Both defendants remain jailed without bail and are due back at the downtown Los Angeles courthouse May 7 for a pretrial hearing.