LAKE VIEW TERRACE : Man Gets Life in Prison Under ‘Three Strikes’ Law

A Lake View Terrace man who snatched a purse from a woman in front of a grocery store in Pacoima was convicted in Van Nuys Superior Court this week of robbery under the state’s new “three strikes” law and sentenced to life in prison.

Earlier convictions for a residential burglary in 1987 and a robbery in 1989 made Terry Evans, 32, liable for the harsher sentence, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Robert Dver.

Dver said his office files all cases eligible under the “three strikes” law, which calls for sentences of 25 years to life for anyone convicted of a third serious felony charge.

“The sentence in this case takes into account not only his current conviction, but his prior conduct,” Dver said. “This is a defendant who has four felony convictions and has been to prison twice and then goes out and commits a fifth felony.”