Killer of LA philanthropist gets 190-year prison term

LOS ANGELES » A parolee who murdered 81-year-old philanthropist Jacqueline Avant, the wife of a legendary music executive, 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 used an AR-15 style semi-automatic rifle to shoot Avant in her Beverly Hills home Dec. 1 and fired several rounds at her 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 in the back 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. 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.

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, bragging to a friend on a jail phone call about all the news stories about him and laughing, according to a court document filed by Deputy District Attorney Victor Avila.