2 Get Long Prison Sentences in Separate Murders

Two men convicted of separate 6-year-old San Fernando Valley murders were condemned to severe prison sentences Thursday, gratifying relatives of the victims who had demanded stringent penalties.

Superior Court Judge J.D. Smith sentenced LaCedrick Johnson to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Johnson was driving the getaway car when a woman was shot to death during a robbery outside her daughter’s Northridge Bible class.

Smith sent 35-year-old Shashonee Solomon, who ordered the murder of his girlfriend after she broke off their relationship, to prison for 38 years to life. Solomon will not face a parole board until at least 2026, when he would be 62.

Razmik Tarkhanian, whose 20-year-old daughter, Talin Kara Tarkhanian, was Solomon’s victim, told him before he was sentenced: “I hope whatever you get, you get it good.”

Deputy Dist. Attys. Janice Maurizi and Edwin Greene had alleged that Johnson, 24, was involved in Tarkhanian’s murder, but jurors could not agree. Prosecutors decided against his retrial in the Tarkhanian slaying because Johnson would not serve any additional time in prison if convicted of a second murder.

A third defendant, Etienne Michael Moore, 25, a former Faith Baptist High School basketball star, was convicted in both murders. Prosecutors said he was the triggerman in both killings, which he allegedly carried out to win his “stripes” in the gang.

Prosecutors said Moore deserved to die for his crimes, but jurors could not agree on a penalty. If prosecutors decide not to retry the penalty phase, Moore will be sentenced to life imprisonment without possibility of parole.

The prosecutors said Johnson and Moore followed cars to nice neighborhoods, robbing the occupants at gunpoint in their driveways.

During the four-month trial, the prosecutors presented evidence that Laurie Myles was slain because she became nervous during the robbery and did not hand over her purse and briefcase quickly enough to suit Moore. She was fatally shot in front of her young son.

Testimony indicated that Tarkhanian had dated Solomon for only a few months before breaking off the relationship. Prosecutors said she was shot to death in her office.