By TERRI VERMEULEN KEITH
Two East Coast men were sentenced on Friday, Aug. 23, to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the drug-related killings of three men who were gunned down inside a home in an upscale Porter Ranch gated community in 2019.
Travis Reid, a 45-year-old Maryland resident, and Kenneth Peterson, a 46-year-old North Carolina resident, professed their innocence shortly before Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Curtis B. Rappe handed down their sentences.
The two were convicted last December of first-degree murder for the Feb. 18, 2019, killings of Gary Davidson, 39, who owned and lived at the home; Benny Lopez, 46, of Anaheim; and Jesus Perez, 34, of Perris.
Reid and Peterson were also convicted of one count of attempted robbery of Davidson.
Then-Deputy District Attorney Victor Avila told jurors during his opening statement that Reid was “out a lot of money” when a shipment of cocaine from California was intercepted by inspectors with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and that Reid “blamed Gary Davidson for the loss.” The prosecutor said in his closing argument that Reid was aggravated for losing more than $370,000.
Reid’s attorney, Tony Garcia, told the panel in his opening statement last year that “not a single person saw Mr. Reid shoot anybody.”
The victims were found dead when officers went to the residence in the 20300 block of Via Galileo. Reid and Peterson were charged in June of that year in connection with the killings.
The two men each spoke during their sentencing, with each expressing their condolences to the victims’ families but denying that they were responsible.
“I’m innocent, I’m innocent,” Peterson said moments before being sentenced. “I’m truly sorry for your loss.”
Reid also denied involvement in the crime, saying that he had nothing to gain from the killing of the three men.
“In no way did I intend to commit malice or harm or kill anyone,” he said.
The judge also heard from family members of the three victims.
Davidson’s daughter, Saniyah, said through tears that she was 10 years old “when his life was taken from me.”
She called him her “best friend” and “protector,” saying that she never got to say goodbye to him.
The girl’s mother, Karen Smith, said the most important question for the two defendants is, “Was it worth it? Was it worth it?”
Lopez’s widow, Jahayra Vega, told the judge that the couple’s daughter will grow up without her father.
Through a Spanish interpreter, Perez’s mother, Cecilia, said that she was stripped “of a piece of my heart” when her son was killed.
“For me, every day is a gaping emptiness and remembering him,” she said.
