Killer of Girl Sentenced to 20 Years to Life in Prison : Courts: Damian Vann fired into a crowd at a dance organized by parents to keep their children out of trouble.

An Inglewood man, described by police as a “lightweight” gang member, was sentenced to 20 years to life in state prison Friday for the 1993 shooting death of a 12-year-old girl at a dance at the Boys & Girls Club in Pacoima.

In sentencing Damian Vann, 19, Superior Court Judge Stanley M. Weisberg called the death of Tiffany Dozier “a tragic situation.” Vann, the judge observed, “shot into a crowd of people who were running away.”

The shooting occurred shortly before 1 a.m. on Jan. 9, 1993. Tiffany, a seventh grader at Maclay Middle School, was waiting for a ride home when a fight broke out between rival gang members. She was shot in the back of the head and died at the scene.

The dance had been organized by parents to keep their children out of trouble and to raise money for the youth center.

Vann, who admitted to police that he had fired into the crowd, will begin serving the sentence at the California Youth Authority, then transfer by age 25 to state prison to complete the rest of his term.

Vann, who was 17 at the time of the shooting, was tried as an adult and convicted of second-degree murder in June. Deputy Dist. Atty. John Nantroup had sought a first-degree murder conviction, while defense attorney Michael E. Goodman argued for a lesser, voluntary manslaughter verdict.

At his sentencing in Van Nuys Superior Court, Vann’s mother was the only person in the audience. She left the courtroom without comment.

In a probation report, Deputy Probation Officer Louis Fishstein noted that Vann was a solid B student and “appears to come from a good family background and seems to have been a responsible, reliable person” until he became a “passive” member of a street gang.

A year before the shooting, Vann had another brush with the law, and was placed on probation for carrying a loaded gun into a mall.

“It is difficult to understand how this average, middle-class youth would become involved in such a violent crime, as such behavior appears to be out of character,” Fishstein wrote in the report.