San Diego
A sailor who stabbed two teen-age girls to death in Linda Vista and tried to kill their brother received a sentence of 50 years to life in state prison Monday.
Consecutive sentences for each crime were imposed by San Diego Superior Court Judge Richard Huffman for Ralph Joseph Johns, 21.
“It is the court’s intention of imposing every possible year the court can,” Huffman said. “The three bound victims were tortured and tormented over a three-hour period.”
Johns pleaded guilty April 28 to first-degree murder of Lori Ann Cvengros, 15; to second-degree murder of Tina Marie Cvengros, 18, and attempted murder of their 13-year-old brother.
Afterward, the weeping mother of the victims, Carrie Cvengros, said she was satisfied with the sentence, but wished Johns would never be paroled.
Deputy Dist. Atty. Jim Pippin urged the 50-year term for the Nov. 8 murders, saying: “That’s what the defendant deserves.”
Johns’ attorney, Millie Durovic, portrayed Johns as suffering from a personality disorder coupled with being subject to much abuse by his mother during childhood.
The boy survived his stab wounds because he pretended he was dead, Pippin said.
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