Man Gets Prison in Slaying of Partner

A Fountain Valley man was sentenced Monday to 16 years to life in prison for his role in the execution-style slaying of his business partner at a Tarzana construction site.

David Thayne Smith, 35, was convicted last fall of second-degree murder in the shooting of Stefan Sweetser, 23, who was gunned down Oct. 16, 1992.

Smith admitted that he was at the remote Reseda Boulevard location where Sweetser was shot five times, but he maintained that he had no idea that a killing was planned.

The man who authorities believe fired the actual shots, 47-year-old Daniel Joseph Miller, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after a jury in another trial convicted him of first-degree murder.

Along with Miller, Smith and Sweetser robbed construction sites throughout the San Fernando Valley and sold the spoils at Visions Door & Windows in Burbank, authorities said. Smith and Sweetser were co-owners of the business. During her prosecution of Smith and Miller, Deputy Dist. Atty. Gloria Maria Mas portrayed the men as greedy robbers who planned Sweetser’s murder so that they would not have to share loot the trio had stolen in a series of burglaries.