SAN DIEGO — With victims and their families watching in a crowded San Diego courtroom, the gunman who opened fire at a Poway synagogue in 2019, killing one worshipper and injuring three others, was sentenced Thursday to life in prison without parole.
It was the expected sentence for John T. Earnest, 22, who in July pleaded guilty in San Diego Superior Court, a deal that spared him a potential death sentence. Aside from life without parole, he also agreed to an additional 121 years-to-life sentence, plus 16 years.
Earnest had pleaded guilty to all charges against him, including murder, attempted murder and arson for setting a fire outside an Escondido mosque a month before the Poway attack. He admitted that both the shooting and the fire were hate crimes.
Fifty-four people were inside Chabad of Poway for a Sabbath service when Earnest opened fire on April 27, 2019. Congregant Lori Gilbert-Kaye, 60, was killed. Founding Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein, 8-year-old Noya Dahan and her uncle Almog Peretz, 34, were injured.
A month earlier, about 3:15 a.m. March 24, 2019, seven people were inside the Dar-ul-Arqam mosque when Earnest tried to set it on fire.
No one was hurt, but the building was damaged. Authorities said the arsonist used accelerant and left graffiti referencing deadly shootings carried out by a white supremacist at mosques in New Zealand days earlier.
At the time of the attacks, Earnest was a 19-year-old Rancho Peñasquitos resident and nursing student at Cal State San Marcos.
Thursday’s sentence was the maximum punishment he could get in the case filed in state court. The district attorney’s office had announced plans to pursue the death penalty but agreed to life and the additional years after plea deal seemed imminent in the parallel federal case against Earnest.
Earnest pleaded guilty to the state charges in July, and two months later he pleaded guilty in the federal case, admitting to all 113 charges and avoiding the death penalty. His sentencing in U.S. District Court in San Diego is set for Dec. 28.
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Hannah Kaye and is comforted by her father Howard as Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein, right, speaks at the burial of her mother Lori Gilbert-Kaye, 60, on April 28, 2019 in San Diego, California. Gilbert-Kaye was killed by a gunman at the synagogue. (K.C. Alfred/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
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Hannah Kaye, left, scoops dirt during the burial of her mother Lori Gilbert-Kaye, 60, on April 28, 2019 in San Diego, California. Gilbert-Kaye was killed by a gunman at the synagogue. (K.C. Alfred/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
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Hannah Kaye and is comforted by her father Howard as Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein, right, speaks at the burial of her mother Lori Gilbert-Kaye, 60, on April 28, 2019 in San Diego, California. Gilbert-Kaye was killed by a gunman at the synagogue. (K.C. Alfred/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
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Hannah Kaye, center, kneels with her father Howard at the burial of her mother Lori Gilbert-Kaye, 60, on April 28, 2019 in San Diego, California. Gilbert-Kaye was killed by a gunman at the synagogue. (K.C. Alfred/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
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Mourners gather outside of Chabad of Poway for a memorial service for Lori Gilbert Kaye on April 29, 2019 in Poway, California. Kaye was killed on Saturday when a gunman opened fire inside the synagogue. (Sam Hodgson/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
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Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein is seen on a screen to an overflow crowd of mourners gather outside of Chabad of Poway for a memorial service for Lori Gilbert Kaye on April 29, 2019 in Poway, California. Kaye was killed on Saturday when a gunman opened fire inside the synagogue. (Sam Hodgson/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
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Mourners gather outside of Chabad of Poway for a memorial service for Lori Gilbert Kaye on April 29, 2019 in Poway, California. Kaye was killed on Saturday when a gunman opened fire inside the synagogue. (Sam Hodgson/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
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Hundreds of people attended a service for Lori Gilbert-Kaye, 60, at the Chabad of Poway on April 28, 2019 in Poway, California. Gilbert-Kaye was killed by a gunman at the synagogue. (K.C. Alfred/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
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Oscar Stewart, left, who was called a hero in the Poway shooting, is hugged by Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein as Poway Mayor Steve Vaus, left, looks on during a service for Lori Gilbert-Kaye, 60, at the Chabad of Poway on April 28, 2019 in Poway, California. Gilbert-Kaye was killed by a gunman at the synagogue. (K.C. Alfred/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
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Howard Kaye speaks about his wife Lori Gilbert-Kaye, 60, during a service for her at the Chabad of Poway on April 28, 2019 in Poway, California. Gilbert-Kaye was killed by a gunman at the synagogue. (K.C. Alfred/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
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Oscar Stewart, left, who was called a hero in the Poway shooting, was called up by Poway Mayor Steve Vaus to lead God Bless America during a service for Lori Gilbert-Kaye, 60, at the Chabad of Poway on April 28, 2019 in Poway, California. Gilbert-Kaye was killed by a gunman at the synagogue. (K.C. Alfred/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
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Looking over at a picture of her mom, Hannah Kaye speaks about her mother Lori Gilbert-Kaye, 60, during a service at the Chabad of Poway on April 28, 2019 in Poway, California. Gilbert-Kaye was killed by a gunman at the synagogue. (K.C. Alfred/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
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Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein hugs a member of the congregation of Chabad of Poway the day after a deadly shooting took place there on April 28, 2019 in Poway, California. (K.C. Alfred/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
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Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein, center, meets with members of the congregation of Chabad of Poway the day after a deadly shooting took place there on April 28, 2019 in Poway, California. Goldstein was shot and lost a finger on his right hand. (K.C. Alfred/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
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Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein, center, meets with members of the congregation of Chabad of Poway the day after a deadly shooting took place there on April 28, 2019 in Poway, California. Goldstein was shot and lost a finger on his right hand. (K.C. Alfred/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
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Members of the St. John of Damascus Orthodox church bring flowers to the Chabad of Poway the day after a deadly shooting took place at the synagogue on April 28, 2019 in Poway, California. St. John of Damascus is located across the street from the synagogue. (K.C. Alfred/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
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Poway residents walk to leave flowers at a memorial near the Chabad of Poway, where a deadly shooting took place the day before on April 28, 2019 in Poway, California. (Photo by K.C. Alfred/The San Diego Union-Tribune) (K.C. Alfred/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
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A memorial of flowers lays across the street from the Chabad of Poway the day after a deadly shooting took place at the synagogue on April 28, 2019 in Poway, California. (K.C. Alfred/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
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Leslie Gollub, left, and Gretchen Gordon comfort each other as they support the Jewish community at a rally not far from the Chabad of Poway, where a deadly shooting took place the day before on April 28, 2019 in Poway, California. (K.C. Alfred/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
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Poway residents leave flowers at a memorial across the street from the Chabad of Poway, where a shooting took place the day before on April 28, 2019 in Poway, California. (Photo by K.C. Alfred/The San Diego Union-Tribune) (K.C. Alfred/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
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Mike Sakasegawa, left, of Mira Mesa and Penny Ribnik of Poway hold signs at a rally in support of the Jewish community not far from the Chabad of Poway, where a deadly shooting took place the day before on April 28, 2019 in Poway, California. (K.C. Alfred/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
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Members of the Chabad synagogue hug as they gather near the Altman Family Chabad Community Center where a man with a gun shot multiple people inside the community center, killing one, in Poway on Saturday, April 27, 2019 in Poway, California. (Hayne Palmour IV/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
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Two men and woman, who appeared to have come out of the the Altman Family Chabad Community Center, walk in front of the community center where a man with a gun shot multiple people inside, killing one, in Poway on Saturday, April 27, 2019 in Poway, California. (Hayne Palmour IV/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
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Brady Fox, 4, with his dad Kyle attend a rally not far from the Chabad of Poway, where a deadly shooting took place the day before on April 28, 2019 in Poway, California. (Photo by K.C. Alfred/The San Diego Union-Tribune) (K.C. Alfred/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
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Members of the media and the surrounding community gather near the Altman Family Chabad Community Center where a man with a gun shot multiple people inside the community center, killing one, in Poway on Saturday, April 27, 2019 in Poway, California. (Hayne Palmour IV/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
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With the Chabad of Poway synagogue behind them, where a man with a gun shot multiple people inside the synagogue, killing one, San Diego Sheriff Bill Gore takes questions about the shooting from the media on Saturday, April 27, 2019 in Poway, California. (Hayne Palmour IV/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
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Poway Mayor Steve Vaus speaks to the media during a press conference on the synagogue shooting in Poway, California on Saturday, April 27, 2019. (Hayne Palmour IV/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
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A view up the cul-de-sac in the Rancho Peñasquitos neighborhood of San Diego where the house thought to be the home of 19 year-old John Earnest, is located. Earnest is a suspect in the shooting of four people in a Poway synagogue, killing one, on Saturday April 27, 2019 in San Diego, California. The house is on a cul de sac in the Rancho Peñasquitos neighborhood in the north part of the city. (John Gibbins/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
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Heavily armed San Diego police officer retreated from a house thought to be the home of 19 year-old John T. Earnest, who is a suspect in the shooting of four people in a Poway synagogue, killing one, on Saturday April 27, 2019 in San Diego, California. The house is on a cut de sac in the Rancho Peñasquitos neighborhood in the north part of the city. (John Gibbins/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
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People from the community, many of them of various faiths, join members of the Rancho Bernardo Community Presbyterian Church in a candlelight vigil for the Chabad of Poway synagogue shooting victims. (Hayne Palmour IV/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
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People from the community, many of them of various faiths, join members of the Rancho Bernardo Community Presbyterian Church in a candlelight vigil for the Chabad of Poway synagogue shooting victims. (Hayne Palmour IV/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
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Reverend Dr. Bryan Stamper leads people from the community, many of them of various faiths, along with members of the Rancho Bernardo Community Presbyterian Church in a song during a candlelight vigil for the Chabad of Poway synagogue shooting victims. (Hayne Palmour IV/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
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A couple attends an interfaith vigil for the Chabad of Poway synagogue shooting victims at the Rancho Bernardo Community Presbyterian Church in a candlelight vigil at the Rancho Bernardo Community Presbyterian Church in Rancho Bernardo on Saturday, April 27, 2019 in San Diego, California. (Hayne Palmour IV/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
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People of various faiths attend an interfaith vigil for the Chabad of Poway synagogue shooting victims at the Rancho Bernardo Community Presbyterian Church in a candlelight vigil at the Rancho Bernardo Community Presbyterian Church in Rancho Bernardo on Saturday, April 27, 2019 in San Diego, California. (Hayne Palmour IV/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
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A woman leaves flowers at small memorial near Chabad of Poway, where a man with a gun shot multiple people inside the synagogue, killing one, in Poway on Saturday, April 27, 2019 in Poway, California. (Hayne Palmour IV/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
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Stacey Cavalieri places a sign near Chabad of Poway, where a man with a gun shot multiple people inside the synagogue, killing one, in Poway on Saturday, April 27, 2019 in Poway, California. Summerfield is the name of the neighborhood adjacent to the synagogue. (Hayne Palmour IV/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
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A young girl places a heart shape note, similar the one in the foreground, on a light pole near Chabad of Poway, where a man with a gun shot multiple people inside the synagogue, killing one, in Poway on Saturday, April 27, 2019 in Poway, California. (Hayne Palmour IV/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
The Escondido mosque fire was set under the cover of darkness, early on a Sunday morning. Someone inside the building spotted the flames and a group of worshippers who’d been sleeping inside doused the fire.
About a month later, on the last day of Passover on a sunny Saturday, a gunman in sunglasses and a military-style tactical vest entered the Poway synagogue with his AR-15-style gun already raised and opened fire.
Gilbert-Kaye was in the lobby when she was fatally shot. As bullets flew, people ducked for cover or rushed out of the synagogue, a few scooping up children as they fled.
One of the worshippers was an off-duty Border Patrol agent who fired back at the gunman. After shooting 10 bullets and struggling with his gun, Earnest left.
He drove to a nearby shopping center and called 911. “I opened fire in a synagogue,” he told the dispatcher. “I think I killed some people.”
He stayed and waited for police to arrest him.
Shortly before the attack, Earnest had posted on social media a tirade of racist and antisemitic statements declaring that the “European race” must be protected.
He praised the March 2019 mass shootings at New Zealand mosques that left 51 people dead, and referenced the accused gunman in the October 2018 attack at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, where 11 people were shot and killed.
Earnest wrote that he’d been planning his attack for four weeks. The written rant also included an admission that he’d set the mosque fire, which at that point was still an unsolved case.
Someone saw the online posting shortly after it went up and, fearing a mass shooting was about to happen, called the FBI.
The shooting in Poway started five minutes later.
