Man pleads guilty to killing county police captain

 

 

 

LOS ANGELES COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
MEDIA RELATIONS DIVISION

STEVE COOLEY District Attorney JOSEPH SCOTT Director
JOHN K. SPILLANE Chief Deputy District Attorney SANDI GIBBONS P.I.O.
JANE ROBISON News Secretary
SHIARA M. DÁVILA Asst. P.I.O.

18-1112 Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center
210 West Temple Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 974-3525
Sept. 18, 2009

Man pleads guilty, sentenced to life term in murder of county officer

COMPTON – A 24-year-old man who was the driver of the getaway car used in the killing of a county police captain five years ago pleaded guilty to first-degree murder today and was sentenced to 50 years to life in prison.

Orvis Camillo Anthony entered the plea before the start of his preliminary hearing in Compton Superior Court. He was sentenced immediately by Judge Gary Hahn.

Deputy District Attorney Phillip Stirling said Anthony pleaded once before and had testified at the preliminary hearing of his co-defendant, 26-year-old Miguel Angel Magallon. The plea was withdrawn at Magallon's trial earlier this year when Anthony refused to testify. Instead, prosecutors used Anthony's earlier testimony. Magallon was convicted and the jury recommended death.

Stirling said Anthony admitted principal armed and street gang allegations. He also waived the five years he has spent behind bars, meaning his 50-year-to-life term starts today. He will not be eligible for a parole hearing until serving about 85 percent of the 50 years.

Los Angeles County Police Capt. Michael Sparkes, 53, was gunned down on Aug. 10, 2004, as he was riding his bicycle in the Rosewood area near Compton. The shooting occurred about 5:30 a.m. at Redondo Beach and Avalon boulevards.

Sparkes was shot nine times with an AK-47 assault weapon. He was on the ground trying to use his cell phone to call 911 as he was being shot to death.

Magallon is scheduled to be formally sentenced to death on Oct. 15. Stirling and Deputy District Attorney Darren Levine, assistant head of the Target Crimes Division, prosecuted the case.

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Sandi Gibbons, Public Information Officer
Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office
Criminal Justice Center
210 W. Temple St., 18th Floor
Los Angeles CA 90012
Phone: 213-974-3528
Email address: sandi@da.lacounty.gov