SIMI VALLEY : Transient Gets Life in Robbery-Murder

A 22-year-old transient was sentenced Friday to life in prison without parole for the murder of a Simi Valley insurance company worker whose sports car he had test-driven.

Judge Charles R. McGrath gave the life sentence to Oscar Rudolfo Barrascout for shooting Gregory D. Minor, 37, on May 18.

Witnesses testified at trial that Minor’s body was found under a bed in his condominium that evening with two small-caliber gunshot wounds to the head. That was one day after Barrascout approached him about the white Chevrolet Corvette that Minor was trying to sell.

A jury convicted Barrascout on Oct. 16 of first-degree murder, first-degree burglary and first-degree robbery after three hours of deliberations. They also ruled that Barrascout had committed the murder during a robbery--a special circumstance that allowed the life sentence without parole.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Donald C. Glynn said authorities still have no clear idea why the shooting occurred. “It’s a tragic case,” Glynn said. “If it was a planned robbery, it was poorly planned.”