Events in the news this week.
A transient from the Palm Springs area who was found guilty of first-degree murder in the strangulation death of a Santa Ana man will be sentenced Friday in Orange County Superior Court.
David E. Hayes, 26, prosecuted under the felony murder rule, which states that a crime partner in a robbery is equally responsible if the crime results in someone’s death, faces 25 years to life in prison.
Hayes, who thought he had an arrangement with prosecutors, had agreed to plead guilty to second-degree murder, which carries a 15-year-to-life penalty, in exchange for his testimony against co-defendant Robert W. Clark. According to Hayes’ attorney, Larry W. Bruce, the district attorney’s office changed prosecutors and the new deputy in charge claimed that no such agreement existed.
Clark, 25, also of Palm Springs, was convicted and sentenced to life without parole in the Jan. 1, 1984, murder of David L. Martinez.
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