Killer of philanthropist gets 190-year sentence
LOS ANGELES — A parolee who murdered 81-year-old philanthropist Jacqueline Avant, the wife of a legendary music executive, during a burglary at her Beverly Hills home was sentenced Tuesday to 190 years in a California prison.
Aariel Maynor, 30, pleaded guilty to murder and other charges in Los Angeles Superior Court last month and admitted he shot Avant in the back with an AR-15 style semiautomatic rifle Dec. 1 and fired several rounds at a security guard as he fled.
Avant was married to Clarence Avant, a Grammy winner known as the “Godfather of Black Music” for mentoring and helping the careers of artists including Bill Withers, Little Willie John, L.A. Reid, Babyface, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.
Maynor shot Jacqueline Avant when she surprised him after he broke into the couple’s house during a burglary attempt in which he hoped to steal $50,000, prosecutors said.
Less than an hour after fleeing the scene, he broke into a home in the Hollywood Hills and then accidentally shot himself in the foot as he was leaving.
Maynor, a Bloods gang member with a long criminal record, was brought into court in a wheelchair.
Avant used her money for charities that helped low-income neighborhoods such as Watts and South Los Angeles. She was on the board of the International Student Center at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Clarence Avant, 91, a concert promoter and manager, was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame last year.
Prosecutors said Maynor had searched for information on Clarence Avant and the couple’s address the day before the killing.
Maynor showed no remorse for the slaying, laughing with a friend on a recorded jail phone call about all the news stories about him, according to a court document filed by Deputy District Attorney Victor Avila.
“You think my mama’s seen that?” he asked.
“I don’t know, but that’s not funny,” the woman, who was not identified, said. “Why are you laughin’? That’s somebody’s life. That’s somebody’s family member.”