Drug Dealer Gets 27 Years for ’84 Slaying

A North Hollywood man was sentenced Friday to 27 years to life in state prison for the 1984 execution-style slaying of a fellow drug dealer he believed was stealing his cocaine and replacing it with baking soda.

Van Nuys Superior Court Judge Kathryne Ann Stoltz imposed the sentence on Timothy Patrick Hoban, 33, in the Jan. 15, 1984, shooting death of Jon Cassanelli, 28, of North Hollywood.

Hoban, who before the sentencing thanked Stoltz for a fair trial but said he is innocent of the charges, was convicted by a jury May 16 of murder and kidnaping after a 3-month-long trial.

Hoban’s accomplice, Steven Zimmer, 39, of North Hollywood, was convicted on the same charges in 1985 and is serving a state prison sentence of 32 years to life.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Stephen A. Baron said Hoban, Zimmer and Cassanelli were drug dealers.

Hoban sought Zimmer’s help in killing Cassanelli, who had failed to pay a $1,500 debt for cocaine and allegedly was stealing cocaine from Hoban and replacing it with baking soda, Baron said.

Cassanelli’s girlfriend, Deborah Stalder, the prosecution’s star witness, testified that she saw Hoban shoot the victim once in the back of the head in a remote area near Kanan Road in Agoura.

Beach-Goers Find Body

The victim’s naked body was found by beach-goers Jan. 29, 1984. The bullet was fired from a handgun later recovered from Hoban’s safe-deposit box, Baron said.

Stalder, who prosecutors said was also a drug dealer, testified under a grant of immunity from prosecution.

Hoban testified that he had no quarrel with Cassanelli and contended that Stalder killed Cassanelli after a fight.

Hoban told Stoltz he was convicted “under extreme prejudice because of my vocation and livelihood,” an apparent reference to his drug dealing.

“My life is ruined,” Hoban said. “More importantly, my three children will have to bear the scars.”

Hoban and Zimmer originally faced the death penalty and charges of killing two other suspected drug dealers. But two separate juries acquitted Zimmer of the added murder charges and voted against the death penalty for him. Based on those court actions, prosecutors decided not to seek the death penalty against Hoban and dropped the other two murder charges against him, Baron said.

Hoban was given six years’ credit for good behavior and time already served in the County Jail. He could be eligible for parole within five years, although convicted murderers are rarely released before 10 years, Baron said.