One young man is in the grave, another is disabled from a gunshot wound, and the 26-year-old man responsible will spend most of his life in prison. The term follows a sentencing Friday for a series of crimes committed on a May evening in 1997.
In the courtroom, the three mothers of the young men wept for their losses. The defense attorney, also a mother, was momentarily overcome with emotion. And 3rd District Judge Judith Atherton said the case strikes a chord with all mothers, especially those who have boys.
Christopher Ryan Tolton shot Arthur Sanchez, 21, to death and seriously injured Carlos Chavez, 15, during a botched robbery that netted a small amount of marijuana and cash.
"This is a senseless case, this is a brutal case," said prosecutor Robert Stott.
Prosecutors contend Tolton and another man, Davey Joe Williams, planned to rob Sanchez during a drug buy and the three, along with Chavez, met at Fairmont Park.
Tolton got into the back seat of Sanchez' car but instead of buying marijuana, Tolton pulled out a handgun and shot Sanchez point blank in the nose, killing him, according to court records.
Tolton then rifled through Sanchez' pockets for money, searched the car trunk for drugs, and forced Chavez to move Sanchez' lifeless body to the passenger seat and drive to another location, court records said. Tolton made Chavez watch as he shot the dead Sanchez in the head once again, and then Tolton shot Chavez in the head, according to court records.
Williams pleaded guilty to lesser charges and is now in prison.
Tolton eventually pleaded guilty to aggravated murder, a capital offense, as well as attempted aggravated murder, aggravated kidnapping and aggravated robbery, all first-degree felonies.
Atherton accepted a plea bargain that exempted Tolton from the death sentence.
She sentenced him to life in prison with the possibility of parole for the aggravated murder; five years to life for the attempted aggravated murder; 15 years to life for the aggravated kidnapping; and five years to life for the aggravated robbery. The sentences all run consecutively.
Cindy Sanchez, mother of the dead young man, wept so hard it was nearly impossible to hear her as she addressed the judge. She said her son's death "broke my heart" and asked for the maximum penalty for Tolton.
Christine Chavez, whose son Carlos suffers from sight and hearing impairments and partial facial paralysis as a result of being shot, said in an emotion-choked voice that Tolton had turned the lives of two families upside down.
"I've asked the Lord to try to forgive him," Chavez said. "I hope he can forgive himself for what he's done. I hope he has remorse in his heart."
Christine Chavez said her son wants to move out of state and change his name because he still fears reprisals for cooperating with law enforcement officials.
Meanwhile, Tolton's mother, Lisa McKenzie, sat on the other side of the courtroom, wiping tears from her eyes and staring at her handcuffed and shackled son in his jail jumpsuit.
Stott said prosecutors, defense attorneys and the victims' families all agreed that the death penalty was not appropriate. But given Tolton's youth, the maximum sentence behind bars is appropriate so he doesn't hurt anyone else, Stott said.
Defense attorney Vernice Ah-Ching spoke of Tolton's remorse, how he had taken responsibility for the crimes, his model behavior in jail, and his sorrow for the suffering he has caused. She also referred to the tribulations endured by the survivors — especially the mothers — and at one point, she choked up.
Tolton told the judge nothing he could say would bring Sanchez back or completely heal Chavez. "I feel terrible about it," Tolton said. "Arthur was a friend of mine, I feel the loss, too. I know what they (the families) are going through has to be terrible. I was a coward; what I did was cowardly."
Atherton termed the case tragic on many levels. "The thought of losing a boy is something unimaginable to a mom. Ms. Sanchez lost Arthur. Ms. Chavez lost the Carlos she used to have. Ms. McKenzie lost you, Chris."
The judge urged Tolton to make productive use of his time in prison so he can lead some kind of meaningful life even though much of it will be behind bars.
E-mail: lindat@desnews.com