15 Years to Life Given in PCP Buyer’s Drowning

An Orange County judge sentenced Mark E. Taylor, 30, to 15 years to life in prison Wednesday on a murder conviction resulting from a PCP sale to a young man who later drowned while under the influence of the drug.

Superior Court Judge Richard J. Beacom told Taylor, who had no serious criminal record before the murder charge was filed, that he sympathized with him but would not grant a request by Taylor’s attorneys for probation.

“This is a sad case of two young men swept up in this drug culture,” Beacom said. “I feel the same sadness for Mr. Taylor and his family as I do for the victim. But society must draw the line. I don’t think this one case is going to turn the tide of history. But if it stops somebody. . . . “

The victim, 18-year-old Adrian Obregon of Montebello, drowned after going into the water at Huntington State Beach on April 29, 1986. Taylor, who is from Huntington Beach, was arrested the next day, shortly after the body washed ashore. Witnesses testified that Taylor sold PCP to Obregon and some friends shortly before Obregon was last seen in the water. The group of young men put together a total of $4.50 for the drugs, according to testimony.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Thomas J. Borris said it was the first case in California in which a drug dealer was convicted of murder in a drug-related death that was not caused by an overdose.

“But it was the PCP which made the victim lose control in the water,” Borris said.

He added that Taylor’s conviction and the stiff sentence should be a message to other drug dealers.

“PCP is one of the most dangerous drugs out there, yet it’s one of the cheapest,” Borris said. “You can make the stuff in your kitchen. I hope that this case will help drug dealers realize that the $50 or whatever they might get isn’t worth 15 years of their life.”

Beacom also gave Taylor a five-year sentence on his conviction of eight counts of possessing and selling PCP to Obregon and his three friends. But the judge stayed that sentence.

Before this case, Taylor’s only criminal record consisted of two arrests in Los Angeles County for possession of PCP and one charge of resisting arrest in connection with one of those incidents.

Taylor’s lawyers argued that it was unfair to give him a murder sentence when his conduct did not amount to what most people consider murder to be.

But Beacom rejected those arguments.

“I know Mr. Taylor did not mean to kill anyone,” Beacom said. But he pointed out that intent to kill is not a requirement for second-degree murder in California. Prosecutors had to prove only implied malice: that Taylor knew what he was doing could lead to someone’s death.

Taylor’s lawyers also argued, in seeking a new trial, that Obregon had a high tolerance level to drugs. But Beacom said that didn’t matter either. Taylor didn’t know Obregon’s tolerance level when he sold him the drugs, the judge said.

Beacom told Taylor: “I feel sorry for you in your predicament. You’re going to spend some time in a bad place. But you’ll come out of it.”

Taylor, visibly upset by the 15-year sentence, only nodded.