A Los Angeles woman whose two accomplices were shot to death at a Montebello restaurant during a robbery last summer entered a no contest plea Wednesday and was immediately sentenced to 23 years in state prison.
Toni Danielle Lopez, 22, entered her plea to one count each of attempted murder and second-degree robbery as her trial was underway in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom. She also admitted gun and gang allegations.
Lopez was initially charged last summer with murder in the July 17, 2015, deaths of Kevin Fierro, 23, and Roger Soriano, 21, but those charges were dropped soon afterward because “further legal research determined the provocative act doctrine does not apply to this case,” according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Lopez was with Fierro and Soriano during the robbery of a 17-year-old boy in East Los Angeles, before the three drove to a nearby restaurant in Montebello shortly after midnight.
Fierro and Soriano grabbed several items from the owner, and Soriano pointed a gun at the owner and shot him once. The restaurant owner returned fire and killed Soriano, then shot and killed Fierro as he tried to run away.
Authorities said Lopez was waiting in a car outside when the shooting occurred and then drove away. She was arrested four days later.
–City News Service