Two persons found guilty of the murder of a photographer seven years after he was killed during a heist on San Francisco’s Twin Peaks have been given life sentences.
Fantasy Decuir, 27, and Lamonte Mims, 27, were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of release on Friday by the office of District Attorney Brooke Jenkins for the July 16, 2017 murder of Ed French, 71.
Jenkins said in a statement, “They often say justice delayed is justice denied, but not in this case.” “I am grateful to the victim’s friends and family who have stood with us over the years as we fought for justice.”
In September, Decuir and Mims were both convicted of first-degree murder under extraordinary circumstances. Decuir was found guilty of second-degree robbery as well.
French went to the well-known tourist destination in the morning with his new camera, a Canon Mark III DSLR, according to testimony given during the trial. French was approached at gunpoint by Mims and Decuir as he was taking pictures.
Decuir shot the victim in the heart and right lung during a scuffle in which Mims tried to yank the camera bag away from French. After the gunshot, Mims kicked the victim who was on the ground and pulled the camera bag.
An hour after the shooting, according to the prosecution, the two tried to sell the pilfered camera near 7th and Market streets.
French had strong connections to the film industry and worked as a commercial site scout.
“When it’s someone you know, it just really hits home,” Susannah Greason Robbins of the SF Film Commission told CBS News Bay Area not long after French’s death.
According to Robbins, the victim was a creative, humorous person.
According to the DA’s office, Decuir and Mims were taken into custody on July 28, 2017, after robbing two visitors on Cathedral Hill of a camera and credit cards while brandishing guns.
“We are relieved that Ms. Decuir and Mr. Mims will never again be able to harm anyone else in our community, even though nothing will fully ease the pain caused by this heartless senseless murder,” Assistant District Attorney Heather Trevisan stated. “I would like to thank Mr. French’s family for their support and patience throughout this case and the jurors who carefully weighed all of the evidence and rendered a just verdict.”
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