1992 Riots Figure Sentenced

Damian Williams, the man convicted of beating trucker Reginald Denny with a brick during the 1992 Los Angeles riots, was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison Friday for the killing of a man in a drug house eight years later.

Williams, 30, who served four years in prison for the televised beating of Denny, returned to Los Angeles County Superior Court on Friday for sentencing in the shooting of Grover Tinner, 43. In addition to the 30-plus years for murder, Judge Curtis B. Rappe sentenced Williams to 21 years for the theft of a firearm.

The sentences mean Williams will serve at least 47 years in prison, said Sandi Gibbons, a spokeswoman for the county district attorney.

Williams made no comment.

He and Tinner had argued at a drug house in Los Angeles in July 2000 and Tinner was shot. Co-defendant Tyrone David Killingsworth, who was the triggerman, claimed the gun went off by accident.

Killingsworth was found guilty of second-degree murder and sentenced to 110 years to life, plus 20 years.

Although Williams didn’t hold the gun, state law says a defendant may be liable for murder if he is committing a crime that results in a homicide. Prosecutors said that Williams and Killingsworth were drug dealers, looking to move in on another’s turf.

In the Denny case, Williams was released from prison after serving four years of a 10-year term for felony mayhem. News cameras captured Williams throwing a brick at Denny’s head at the intersection of Florence and Normandie avenues as the riots began.

*

Associated Press contributed to this report.