Man Given Life Term in Van Nuys Slaying
A Long Beach man was sentenced Monday to life in prison without the possibility of parole for murdering a Van Nuys man and trying to kill the man’s girlfriend in retaliation for a burglary.
Van Nuys Superior Court Judge Judith Meisels Ashmann gave Dean Kennedy, 30, the maximum sentence for the murder of Thomas Wilson, 35, and an additional concurrent term of life with the possibility of parole for the attempted murder of Susan Yee, 32.
Kennedy was convicted by a jury Dec. 12 of first-degree murder for financial gain and attempted murder, for hiring two men to kill Wilson and Yee, both of Van Nuys.
Wilson died after being shot twice in the head and once in the stomach on Dec. 23, 1987, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Phillip H. Rabichow. Yee was shot at the same time but recovered, he said.
Kennedy, the owner of a window tinting business, was involved with Wilson in an illegal scheme related to credit card fraud, Rabichow said. Wilson allegedly stole a $35,000 check and some credit cards from Kennedy’s home, prosecutors said. Kennedy hired John Young, 28, of Long Beach and Kitiona Paepule, 22, of Paramount to kill Wilson and also provided a gun and silencer, Rabichow said.
Young, who pleaded guilty to the charges and was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole, testified against Kennedy. Paepule’s trial is pending.
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