Local News in Brief : Inmate Sentenced on 3rd Murder Conviction

A former Sherman Oaks man was sentenced Monday to 16 years to life in state prison on his third conviction for murder of a transient in a Van Nuys bar parking lot in 1979.

Edmund Arthur Asbury, 34, last month was found guilty of second-degree murder in the bludgeoning death of John Jackson, 58. Jackson, who was living at a Salvation Army shelter at the time, was beaten to death with a 4-by-4 board while sleeping in his car, according to trial testimony.

Asbury had twice been convicted of the slaying, but the jury verdicts were overturned by the state Court of Appeal, which ruled that Asbury had received incompetent counsel during the previous trials.

In Monday’s sentencing, Van Nuys Superior Court Judge Darlene E. Schempp added one year to the standard sentence of 15 years to life for second-degree murder because of Asbury’s use of a deadly weapon.

Police testified that Asbury was arrested within an hour of the murder on suspicion of drunk driving and was carrying the victim’s wallet and car keys. Asbury’s clothes were splattered with blood that proved to be of the same type as that of the victim, police said.

With credit for time served, Asbury, who has been incarcerated since his arrest in 1979, will be eligible for parole in about three years.