A 32-year-old man acquitted of attempting to kill a man in a Stanton motel parking lot when the victim intervened in the defendant’s argument with his girlfriend was sentenced Friday to two years in prison because he was a convicted felon in possession of a gun at the time.
Chad Jamal Richardson was convicted May 11 of felony counts of possession of a firearm and ammunition by a felon, but jurors acquitted him of attempted murder, assault with a firearm and rejected sentencing enhancements for attempted premeditated murder, discharge of a firearm causing great bodily injury or death, inflicting great bodily injury, and personal use of a firearm.
Jurors also acquitted him of lesser charges of attempted manslaughter and assault with a deadly weapon, his attorney Joel Garson said.
Richardson could have faced up to 45 years to life in prison if convicted on all counts. Instead, Orange County Superior Court Judge Larry Yellin did not count Richardson’s past convictions against him, which would have doubled his punishment, and sentenced him to two years. Richardson had credit for 440 days in custody so he could be freed in three to five months.
Richardson praised Yellin for “how you handled this delicate situation.”
Richardson added, “I have been in jail for 14 years of my life” and noted he turns 33 on Saturday.
Richardson said he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder due to an incident in his choldhood, he said.
“I need treatment and counseling,” he said, adding he has been treated in custody and it has been helpful.
“I have deep remorse and empathy for my actions,” Richardson said.
He apologized to “the community,” and those who were on hand for the shooting for putting them at risk, he said.
He also apologized to the victim and his family.’
The details of the traumatic incident for Richardson were sealed, but Yellin alluded to the defendant witnessing a deadly police shooting.
“I’m sorry that happened to you,” Yellin said.
The incident has led Richardson to a “chemical dependency,” Yellin said.
Yellin noted that Richardson was not convicted of a violent crime, but he agreed with Garson about the “irony” of the case.
Garson argued that while it was wrong for Richardson to possess a weapon given his criminal history it was also used in self-defense.
Yellin also noted that Richardson’s past convictions were about 12 years ago.
“They’re also bunched together,” he said. “It was a bad run in a shot period of time.”
But Yellin also pointed out that Richardson was angry when he grabbed the gun.
Deputy District Attorney Taylor Krone argued for a four-year sentence, saying the defendant’s past criminal history should double the punishment.
The attempted murder charge would have carried a life sentence. Richardson’s lightest possible sentence Friday was 16 months.
Richardson shot Marvin Eli in the stomach at about 1 p.m. on Nov. 17 in the parking lot of the Riviera Motel at 11892 Beach Blvd. The victim survived a wound to his stomach.
Richardson had multiple “heated exchanges” with his girlfriend, Amy Ramey, in the parking lot before Eli got in the middle of it, Krone said in his opening statement of the trial.
Ramey was supposed to be a main witness in the trial, but she went missing. When Ramey didn’t show for court and investigators could not find her, Krone moved to dismiss charges and re-file the case. Yellin denied the request but postponed the beginning of the trial’s testimony.
Krone showed jurors surveillance video of the shooting, which is partially blocked by a car. Eli can be seen looking down and reaching for his waist band moments before the shooting. But Krone noted that Eli was “pulling up his pants.”
Eli’s glance downward shows that “either the defendant already had a gun in his hand or was in a position to shoot that instantaneously,” Krone said.
The prosecutor said Eli’s “lethargic move” to his waist did not pose an “imminent danger” to anyone.
“You’re going to have the video, which speaks for itself,” Krone said.
The prosecutor also noted how Richardson ran away following the shooting, moved to a motel three miles away and later took an Uber ride to a hospital to see his son being born. Richardson gave the driver $200 to drive him to the hospital, the prosecutor said.
Garson said in his opening statement, “What this case is really about is a guy who finally couldn’t bully anyone else. He finally met someone who wouldn’t back down and could defend himself.”
Garson noted Eli had tattoos on his leg, which the attorney said represented the street gang he was associated with.
The motel was “dilapidated” to such a degree the county was taking it over, Garson said.
“It’s not the place you take your family for Knott’s Berry Farm,” he said. “Maybe in the 1950s, but not now.”
Richardson and Ramey were staying “long term” at the motel and were like all the other guests who were under “pressure” to leave as the owners were “shooing everyone out” before the county took it over, Garson said.
Richardson had to hire a mechanic to help him fix his BMW in the parking lot because the battery was not working right, Garson said. Richardson sent Ramey to another motel to get a room they could move into, but she returned saying she couldn’t do it, Garson said.
“She tells Mr. Richardson she couldn’t get the room and they get in a fight,” Garson said.
It got so heated, Richardson said he was “fed up” and told his girlfriend he was leaving her and wanted back the $50 he had given her to rent the room, Garson said.
Richardson began moving her stuff into the car of the friend who helped her look for a new room, including her purse, which contained a gun, the attorney said.
“At this time Marvin Eli gets involved and walks up to them acting all gangster with tattoos on his legs,” Garson said.
Eli told Richardson, “This is my territory,” Garson said.
Richardson replied that he was from Los Angeles and had no beef with Eli’s gang, but Eli cursed Richardson and continued threatening him, Garson said.
Ramey told him, “This is none of your business, stay out of this,” according to Garson.
Garson also showed the surveillance video to jurors, saying it shows Eli reaching to his waist and something tumbling out when he is shot.
Richardson had pulled the gun out of his girlfriend’s purse and defended himself, Garson said.
“This is not Mr. Eli’s first rodeo,” Garson said of the victim’s lengthy criminal past.
Eli has been charged multiple times with having a knife, Garson said. He was also charged with leading police on a high-speed chase and punching a fellow jail inmate and knocking him out because he felt the victim made disparaging remarks about the movie star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Garson said. Eli was in jail at the time for getting into a bar fight over allegations a female patron was “disrespected,” Garson said.
There’s also surveillance video showing Eli motioning two companions over toward the shooting scene, where one man fetched a rag out of a dumpster to pick something up and throw it away, Garson said.
“We believe it was the weapon he was pulling out” before the shooting, Garson said.
“When Mr. Marvin Eli decided to inject himself and be the tough out at the motel he escalated this,” Garson said. “And Mr. Richardson had Amy Ramey’s purse at the ready or else he might have been the one on the ground.”
Richardson was convicted of burglary in September 2012 in Orange County and burglary in April 2012 in Los Angeles County, according to court records.
Eli has a criminal history that includes car theft in 2017, carrying a dirk or dagger in 2019, felony battery last year and a misdemeanor battery and assault case this year, according to court records.