Robber Who Targeted SGV Women Is Stuck With 312-Year Sentence

LOS ANGELES, CA — A state appeals court panel upheld a man's 312- year-to-life prison sentence for a robbery spree that targeted women who were driving alone in the San Gabriel Valley.

In a ruling released Tuesday, a three-justice panel from California's 2nd District Court of Appeal rejected the defense's contention that a judge erred in ordering Jose Lewis Avila to serve consecutive terms on four of the counts against him.

Avila was initially sentenced in 2014 to 374 years to life in prison, but an appellate panel reversed that sentence and ordered the trial court to exercise its discretion to impose a concurrent or consecutive sentence on eight of the counts. He was subsequently sentenced to the 312-year-to-life term.

He was convicted in July 2014 of nine counts of second-degree robbery and one count each of assault with a deadly weapon, child abuse and dissuading a witness from reporting a crime.

Jurors found true allegations that Avila used a BB gun and that he inflicted great bodily injury on one of the victims, who was shot in the face as she held her child.

Prosecutors said Avila committed nine robberies between March and April 2011, accosting the women when they arrived home and demanding their money and property.

Avila, who had a BB gun and covered his face with a bandana or mask during the hold-ups, was identified as the perpetrator through surveillance video and credit card charges, according to prosecutors.

He was arrested after an April 2011 traffic stop in which police discovered a BB gun, mask and gloves in his car.

The case stemmed from an investigation by the Alhambra, Arcadia, Monterey Park and San Gabriel police departments.

City News Service; Photo: Shutterstock