A 35-year-old felon was found guilty Wednesday of first- degree murder for gunning down a friend for laughing at him when he got beaten up.
Jurors deliberated for two days before convicting Jonathan Peterson of Buena Park, who claimed he killed 25-year-old Antwann Jones of Anaheim in self- defense.
Peterson, who faces 52 years to life in prison, is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 5.
Co-defendant Jihad Jones, who was charged as an accessory after the fact, pleaded guilty Tuesday and was sentenced to 32 months in prison, which was the amount of credit he had for time in custody in the case, according to Senior Deputy District Attorney Steve McGreevy.
Peterson and Jihad Jones — who is not related to the victim — went out partying together the night of May 24, 2014. The shooting occurred about 2:30 the next morning as Peterson was being dropped off at his apartment at 8192 California St., where he lived with his girlfriend and their two children, according to McGreevy.
The victim died from a single gunshot wound that ripped through both lungs and severed an artery, McGreevy said. Authorities did not recover the weapon, but found a spent shell casing and a live round at the crime scene.
The defendant’s girlfriend, Latoya Pellazar, initially lied to police about what happened, but she went to investigators several days later because “she was upset and said, ‘I can’t live with this anymore. It’s eating me up inside,’ ” McGreevy said.
Pellazar told investigators that the father of her children came into their residence upset and retrieved a gun, McGreevy said. She said that when she tried to stop him, he pushed her away and swore at her.
Later that night, when she finally met up again with the defendant in an Anaheim motel, he told her that the victim “laughed at him when he was beat up,” McGreevy told the jury.
The defendant initially lied to police, saying he was beaten up by two men, McGreevy told City News Service. Peterson, however, testified in the trial that Antwann Jones punched him, McGreevy said.
Peterson’s attorney, Matthew Darling, declined comment on the verdict. But he told jurors that his client feared for his life and shot Antwann Jones to protect himself.
“Antwann Jones punched him several times and threatened to kill him,” Darling alleged. “He (Peterson) was in fear for his life and had to act in self-defense.”
After Peterson and Jihad Jones had gone to a strip club in Anaheim, the two picked up Antwann Jones at his mother’s home, Darling said.
The three were friends, but there had been tension because Antwann Jones had been accusing Peterson of trying to have sex with the victim’s girlfriend, who was a stripper, Darling said.
Antwann Jones was a “violent guy when he was drinking,” and on the night of the shooting, he had a blood-alcohol level of .15, nearly twice the legal limit for driving, Darling said.
Antwann Jones kept accusing Peterson of trying to “get with” Jones’ girlfriend, Darling said. Peterson repeatedly denied it and assured Jones that he and Jihad Jones had been at another strip club than the one in which the victim’s girlfriend worked, Darling said.
After they arrived at Peterson’s home to drop him off, the argument continued, Darling said. It came to a head when Antwann Jones punched Peterson twice, the second blow sending him to the ground, Darling said.
Peterson, who had two black eyes, was struck again by Jones before Peterson pulled a gun and shot Jones, Darling said.
“He saw Antwann reach into his waistband and he was scared for his life,” Darling said, “so he pulled out a gun and pointed it in his general direction to get him to stop. He didn’t want to kill him… He’ll tell you that if he really wanted to kill that guy, he would have kept firing.”
Darling conceded that Peterson, who was a convicted felon, was prohibited from having a gun.
—City News Service