Activist Gets Maximum Sentence for Burglary
A black community activist who claimed that his prosecution on a burglary charge was racially motivated was sentenced Wednesday to three years and eight months in state prison, the maximum term possible, for breaking into a Culver City beauty shop.
In handing down the sentence, Santa Monica Superior Court Judge James Albracht criticized Jitu Sadiki as “a coward” who fabricated an alibi and took unfair advantage of minority rights activists who had rallied to support him without knowing all the details of the case.
The 34-year-old South-Central Los Angeles man, who was released from prison in 1982 after serving time for murder, was found guilty of the 1988 burglary by two separate juries. He had won a new trial on grounds that he had incompetent counsel the first time.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
