The man who fatally shot philanthropist Jacqueline Avant was sentenced to life in state prison with a minimum of 150 years on Tuesday in Los Angeles.
Aariel Maynor, 30, sat in court in a wheelchair and showed no emotion as prosecutors played a recording of a jailhouse phone call of him laughing about killing Avant, according to The Los Angeles Times.
The parolee had a lengthy criminal record. The judge in the case said he planned the Dec. 1 burglary and killing after looking up Beverly Hills homeownership records for Avant’s husband, former Motown boss Clarence Avant.
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During Tuesday’s court proceedings, a letter was read aloud from the Avants’ daughter, Nicole.
“There are no words to describe the cruel and vicious acts of the defendant. We are shattered,” the letter said. “My mother devoted every cell of her body to help others. To have her life taken so brutally, is devastating.”
Nicole is a former ambassador to the Bahamas and wife of Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos.
Maynor’s sentencing came after he pleaded guilty on March 3, to fatally shooting Jacqueline Avant during a break-in at the couple’s Beverly Hills home. The shooting occurred just before 2:30 a.m. in the 1100 block of Maytor Place, according to the Beverly Hills Police Department. Paramedics transported Avant, 81, to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.
Prosecutors said Maynor “shot Jacqueline Avant in the back,” and fired at the family’s private security guard who was not injured.
The career criminal was arrested about an hour later in the nearby Hollywood Hills after shooting himself while burglarizing a second home. An AR-15 style weapon was recovered from the second location.
Maynor was charged on Dec. 6 with first-degree murder and other counts in Avant’s death. He initially pleaded not guilty, but later changed his plea to guilty to one count each of first-degree murder, attempted murder and possession of a firearm by a felon as well as two counts of first-degree residential burglary with a person present.
Jacqueline Avant was active in the community, and was part of the board of directors for UCLA’s International Student Center. She also served as president of the Neighborhood of Watts, a childcare support group in South Los Angeles.
