A parolee who was convicted of murdering a woman and wounding her dog in Koreatown was sentenced Wednesday to just over 100 years to life in state prison.
In imposing Lamont Deshon Dorsey’s sentence, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Gustavo Sztraicher cited the “complete viciousness and senselessness” in what “appears to be an unprovoked murder” involving the Jan. 9, 2021, shooting death of Katherine McNally.
The judge rejected the defense’s motion to strike Dorsey’s April 2019 conviction for robbery, which resulted in more than three decades being added to his sentence.
The judge noted that the now 32-year-old defendant had just been released from state prison a few months before the killing and was on parole at the time, saying he found that Dorsey “falls squarely within the spirit of the three-strikes law.”
Dorsey was convicted Feb. 3 of first-degree murder for McNally’s killing, along with a count of animal cruelty involving the woman’s dog, Grizzly, who needed emergency veterinary care after being struck in the ear and is now being cared for by the victim’s boyfriend, according to Deputy District Attorney Justin Ford.
In a sentencing brief, the prosecutor wrote that Dorsey shot and killed the woman “during an attempted robbery in the area of Mariposa Avenue and Council Street” and also shot her dog and then pointed a gun at the victim’s boyfriend as he ran toward the sound of the gunshots.
Along with the murder and animal cruelty charges, jurors found Dorsey guilty of one count each of assault with a semiautomatic firearm involving the victim’s boyfriend and possession of a firearm by a felon.
“Defendant took the stand in his own defense and told a demonstrably false story that he was there for an illegal drug transaction and shot Ms. McNally and her dog in self-defense,” the prosecutor wrote in his sentencing memorandum.
The judge noted that Dorsey testified that he saw a weapon, but that no weapon was found inside the car.
In a statement read in court by the prosecutor, the victim’s father, Brian, said, “As any parent who has ever lost a child either through a complicated birth, sickness, accident or most horribly, murder, would feel, my family and I are most devastated. Since it is impossible to rewind the past and bring my daughter Katie back into this life we all must try to move forward and have faith that we will all meet together again on that wonderful day in God’s kingdom.”
“… You will have the rest of your mortal life to contemplate the terrible decisions you have made,” he said in remarks directly addressing the defendant. “Looking to God is usually the last resource desperate people use to find peace of mind and heart after all else they endeavored in life has failed. My advice to you, Mr. Dorsey, is to try and find that quiet place in your heart and mind now by emptying out all the noise and confusion inside and reaching out to Jesus — ask him for forgiveness, ask him to help you to begin a whole new life in which you will finally find that peace and love and fulfillment.”
One of the victim’s brothers, who spoke on behalf of himself and his siblings, said, “We will never get over the horror of our sister’s murder.”
Michael McNally noted that she had just celebrated her 38th birthday, but said she died “alone and afraid.”
Dorsey was arrested in the 900 block of South Olive Street by a Los Angeles Police Department-FBI fugitive task force about 1 1/2 months after the killing.
He has remained behind bars since then.
Dorsey is expected to appeal his conviction.