Chatsworth Man Draws 13 Years in Slaying
A 38-year-old Chatsworth man was sentenced Monday to 13 years in state prison for manslaughter in the February shooting death of his estranged wife’s boyfriend.
According to testimony, Gayle Lambert Steele shot Raymond Robert Brown, 45, after an argument Feb. 7 outside the Canoga Park apartment of Steele’s wife.
In an agreement with prosecutors, Steele, a propulsion technician for Rockwell International Corp., pleaded guilty Feb. 23 to voluntary manslaughter rather than face trial on a murder charge.
Van Nuys Superior Court Commissioner Sherman Juster, in weighing his sentencing decision, noted that Steele had no previous arrests. But Juster opted for the maximum penalty, concluding, “It is simply not possible to condone settling marital disputes at gunpoint.”
According to court records, Steele’s marriage of 14 years began to deteriorate a few years ago, and he and his wife separated in May. He told the judge Monday that it was “very painful to love someone for 14 years and have everything go down the drain.”
Steele will be eligible for parole in about six years.
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