(CNN) — A 30-year-old man was sentenced to 190 years to life in prison for the 2021 murder of Jacqueline Avant, a philanthropist and the wife of music icon Clarence Avant, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office announced Tuesday.
“Today marks the end of a tragic case that rocked our community,” District Attorney George Gascón said during a news conference. “The senseless act not only impacted the Jacqueline Avant family, but an entire community.”
Aariel Maynor pleaded guilty last month to first-degree murder, attempted murder and several other charges, according to a release from the DA’s office. Maynor broke into Avant’s Beverly Hills home on December 1, 2021, and fatally shot the 81-year-old, the release said. He also shot at her security guard, but the guard was not injured, according to the release.
Maynor is not eligible for early parole and will spend the rest of his life in prison, Gascón said.
Maynor’s attorney Marcus Huntley didn’t comment on the length of the sentence but told CNN Maynor had a difficult childhood growing up in the foster system, and that impacted his life later on. While this in no way excuses what he did, Huntley said, he was never really given a chance to succeed.
“We would hope that people would be rehabilitated in the foster system, but that’s not the reality,” Huntley told CNN. “And horribly, the Avant family suffered from this.”
Gascón said he thought the sentencing was appropriate considering the circumstances, as he claimed Maynor allegedly made a series of jail calls that demonstrated “no remorse” and that were “very disturbing in nature.”
“Our office has and will continue to seek to hold accountable those that cause grievous harm in our community. That is especially true in cases where people show little or no remorse,” he said.
Maynor has been in and out of the criminal justice system since he was 12 years old, according to Gascón.
Gascón said this is an example of why better support systems are needed for those who frequently interact with law enforcement.
“We need to ensure that we provide the resources necessary for treatment, support both inside and outside the prison systems, and that we facilitate reentry in a way that would make us all safer,” he said. “We should do this not because we want to cuddle up to those that have committed crimes or cause harm, but because it is necessary for the safety of our community.”
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