POMONA : Man Convicted of Killing Ex-Wife and Her Parents
A former U.S. Army Reserve recruiter was found guilty Tuesday of killing his ex-wife and her parents and shooting at a Covina recruiting station a year ago.
The penalty phase in the trial of Richard Fontes will begin Thursday, after which jurors will recommend the death penalty or life without the possibility of parole.
A Pomona Superior Court jury found Fontes, 27, of Fontana, guilty of the Oct. 5, 1993, slayings of his former wife, Suzanne Fontes, 28, and her parents, retired El Monte Police Officer Charles R. Kelly, 66 and his wife, Rachel, 63.
The three were slain in the Kelly’s Covina home. Authorities said that afterward, Fontes drove to the Covina recruiting station, fired four shots into the door and drove away. He later returned to the station, where he called police and handed over a handgun and shotgun when they arrived.
Fontes’ defense attorney had argued that the ex-Walnut High School football star was under excessive pressure in his job and faced mounting domestic problems, which caused him to lose control.
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