Generic police lights and yellow police tape at crime scene.Photo: Getty Images/iStockphoto
A Southern California man was found guilty of murdering three teenage boys on Friday after he was accused of ramming into their vehicle with his car after they played a doorbell-ringing prank on him, according to several news sites.
A Riverside County judge convicted Anurag Chandra, 45, with three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of attempted murder, perAssociated Press.
“The murder of these young men was ahorrendous and senseless tragedyfor our community,” Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin said in a statement toNBC News. “This is an important step toward justice.”
The offices of Chandra’s attorney, David Wohl, did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Anurag Chandra.Riverside County Sheriff’s Department/AP
Chandra alleged in court that one of the boys had rung his doorbell and shown his buttocks before getting back into a car, making him “extremely, extremely mad,” perThe Riverside Press-Enterprise. Per the publication, Chandra also admitted that he had had 12 beers hours before the incident and was worried about the safety of his family.
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One boy was pronounced dead at the scene, two others died at the hospital, and the remaining three suffered non-life-threatening injuries. The three fatal victims were identified as Daniel Hawkins, Jacob Ivascu and Drake Ruiz, all of whom were 16 years old.
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Chandra said in court that he had not intended to crash into the teens' car, but did after the teens braked suddenly, according toThe Riverside Press-Enterprise. He also said that he did not stop after hitting them because he didn’t realize anyone had been injured at the time.
After the crash, a witness followed Chandra and reported his location to the police, and authorities arrested him at about 2:45 a.m., according to KTLA.
Chandra’s sentencing is scheduled for July 14, where he faces life in prison without parole, perNBC News.
source: people.com
