MD Man Guilty In CA Triple Murder Over Lost Cocaine Shipment

BALTIMORE, MD — Friends from the Baltimore area were convicted Wednesday of the drug-related killings of three men who were gunned down inside a home in an upscale southern California gated community nearly five years ago.

A downtown Los Angeles jury deliberated about five days before finding Travis Reid, a 44-year-old resident of Baltimore, and Kenneth Peterson, a 45-year-old North Carolina resident, guilty of first-degree murder for the Feb. 18, 2019, killings of Gary Davidson, 39, who owned and lived at the home; Benny Lopez, 46, of Anaheim; and Jesus Perez, 34, of Perris.

Jurors also found true the special circumstance allegation of multiple murders, along with gun use allegations against the two. Reid and Peterson were also convicted of one count of attempted robbery of Davidson.

Deputy District Attorney Victor Avila told jurors during his opening statement that Reid was "out a lot of money" when a shipment of cocaine from California was intercepted by inspectors with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and that Reid "blamed Gary Davidson for the loss." The prosecutor said in his closing argument that Reid was aggravated for losing more than $370,000, and urged jurors to hold the two men accountable.

Reid's attorney, Tony Garcia, told the panel in his opening statement that "there's going to be all sorts of reasonable doubt" involving his client, noting that "not a single person saw Mr. Reid shoot anybody" and that no one was going to even be able to put his client at the scene.

Peterson's attorney, Steven Giedzinski, told the jury they would hear evidence about "lots of connections" between Reid and Davidson, but not between Peterson and Davidson. He said the evidence would show that the government had not proven the case against his client.

The victims were found dead when officers went to the residence in the 20300 block of Via Galileo on a report of unknown trouble, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

Reid and Peterson were charged in June 2019 in connection with the killings.

The Los Angeles Times reported that the duo were childhood friends from the Baltimore area. Reid had Peterson build silencers for the guns used in the crimes.

The two are facing life in prison without the possibility of parole. Sentencing is set Feb. 9 before Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Curtis B. Rappe.

City News Service