Photographer’s Assailant Faces Up to 2 Life Terms
A man was convicted of attempted murder and other charges Wednesday for the near-fatal beating of his neighbor, celebrity photographer Bill Jones.
Shai Alkebulan, 40, faces up to two life terms in prison when he is sentenced Jan. 14 for the attack on Jones, who was washing his car outside his Crenshaw-area home when Alkebulan approached him with a baseball bat and beat him.
Along with the attempted murder conviction, a Los Angeles Superior Court jury found Alkebulan guilty of assault with a deadly weapon, aggravated mayhem and attempted aggravated mayhem.
The photographer and part-time substitute teacher, whose work has appeared in Ebony and Jet magazines, has been recovering from the June 27 attack. Deputy Dist. Atty. Richard Stone said Alkebulan was motivated by jealousy.
Jones, who was on hand to hear the verdicts, said he was pleased that the trial is over. He said he has returned to photography without the use of his right arm, which has been partially paralyzed.
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