Long Beach Man Gets Life Term in Carjacking Murder

A Long Beach man was sentenced Thursday to life in prison without possibility of parole, plus 10 years, for the August 1993 carjacking murder of a school crossing guard who had 13 grandchildren.

Richard Hodge, whose attorney asked for a 25-year sentence because his client was a juvenile when the crime occurred, is expected to appeal the sentence imposed by Long Beach Superior Court Judge Richard Romero.

Hodge showed no reaction to the ruling. Although he was the gunman, Hodge was not eligible for the death penalty because the crime occurred when he was 17.

The former Polytechnic High School student is the second of two men convicted and sentenced for the Aug. 9 murder of Catherine Tucker, 46.

Virgil Jason Clarke was sent to prison for life, without possibility of parole, in January, for his role in the killing.

Tucker’s body was found in the trunk of her crashed and abandoned car. She had been abducted from her post near Burnett Street and Pacific Avenue, where she helped children on the way to Lafayette Elementary School cross the street.

Hodge’s attorney, John Schmoker, tried to put his client’s crime into context. “I think it was a foolish act of a child,” he said outside court.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Steve Schreiner said he did not want to give Hodge a chance to walk free again.

“This was an extremely cold-blooded, execution-style killing,” the prosecutor said. “This person was basically executed as she started to turn her head. . . . The nature of it was just so heinous.”

Rosalind Tucker, the victim’s daughter-in-law, addressed Romero, saying the murder had caused “a lot of hurt” for her and her family.