3 Charged in Killing of O.C Drug Dealer
Three San Diego County men have been charged with the Super Bowl Sunday killing of an Irvine drug dealer, authorities said Friday.
Neighbors Stephen Bennett, 34, and Bernard Smith, 41, both of Vista, as well as Brandon Turner, 20, of Oceanside were arrested this week and charged with murder and robbery in the Feb. 5 death of Brian Gray, 36, who was shot multiple times during a drug deal in his Irvine apartment, according to Susan Kang Schroeder, a spokeswoman for the Orange County district attorney’s office.
Few arrest details were available. Schroeder said Bennett was caught in Arizona and extradited to Orange County.
The three are accused of arranging to buy drugs from Gray after the Super Bowl at his apartment on Parkview Lane near Culver Street and the San Diego Freeway. They drove to Gray’s apartment, Schroeder said, shot him several times, took his cocaine and fled.
Because of a special circumstances charge in the case, she said, the men could face the death penalty if convicted.
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