2 Teens Get Life in Gas Station Manager’s Slaying

Two teen-agers who gunned down a Redondo Beach gas station manager while stealing $2,500 were sentenced Tuesday to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Richard Ponton, who was 17 at the time of the June, 1989, shooting, and Rickey Gary, who was 18, were convicted in August by a Torrance Superior Court jury of murdering Jesus Chavez during the robbery.

Two other teen-agers who helped plan the robbery but did not participate in the shooting testified against Ponton and Gary during their trial.

The witnesses said Ponton and Gary plotted to support their crack cocaine habits by stealing the weekend gas receipts at the Arco station at Artesia Boulevard and Rindge Lane. They planned to kill Chavez, who was a friend of Ponton’s, because he would be able to identify the pair, witnesses said.

Ponton, a former student at Redondo Union High School, was arrested at Pacific Shores Continuation High School in Manhattan Beach after the shooting. He testified during the trial that he was a bystander during the robbery and it was Gary who fired the fatal shots.

But Gary’s attorney argued that there was evidence that Ponton was the one who pulled the trigger.

In a presentencing report, a probation officer described Ponton as “a very cold, calculating and vicious individual . . . (who) represents an extremely serious threat to the welfare and safety of the community and should never be released back into society.”

In a separate report, an officer noted that Gary refused to be interviewed, saying that he knew he was going to prison for the rest of his life and that he now “just wanted to kick back.”

“The commission of this type of crime obviously did not bother (Gary), indicating that (he) is a cold, heartless individual,” the officer wrote.

Attorneys for both Gary and Ponton indicated they would appeal the convictions.