Posted on 07/21/21
| News Source: i24
Perpetrator could still face more than 100 federal charges, where federal prosecutors could seek death penalty
The now 22-year-old who perpetrated the Chabad of Poway synagogue attack in 2019, in which one person was killed and three wounded, pleaded guilty to criminal charges Tuesday and was sentenced to life in prison without parole, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune.
Former nursing student John T. Earnest admitted charges of murder and attempted murder in a plea deal that spares him a potential death sentence in the state case. He also pleaded guilty to a further hate crime, namely arson, after setting fire to an Escondido mosque a month before the attack on the synagogue.
As a result, the shooter will be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole plus 121 years to life and another 16 years, reported the Tribune.
He is scheduled to be sentenced September 30 in San Diego Superior Court.
When Judge Peter Deddeh asked the defendant if he had "willfully and maliciously" set fire to the mosque, he replied in the affirmative. Similarly, he admitted targeting the worshipers in the Chabad of Poway synagogue because they were Jewish, even posting an open letter online declaring his hatred for Jews.
Despite the perpetrator's pending sentencing, there are still more than 100 outstanding federal charges, including hate crimes, using a firearm and obstructing the free exercise of religious beliefs by using a dangerous weapon resulting in death and injury, according to the Tribune.