Oklahoma Man Convicted in Shotgun Killings of Woman and Her 4-Year-Old Daughter in Long Beach

The gunman opened fire on the family outside their Long Beach apartment in August 2016

An Oklahoma man charged in the shooting deaths of a woman and her 4-year-old daughter outside their Long Beach home was convicted Friday of murder.

Brandon Ivan Colbert Jr., of Tulsa, Oklahoma, was also accused of trying to kill the child's father Aug. 6, 2016 outside the family's home ear Ninth Street and Locust Avenue in Long Beach. The jury deliberated just over an hour before finding Colbert Jr. guilty of first-degree murder for the killings of Carina Mancera, 26, and her daughter, Jennabel Anaya, and the attempted murder of Luis Anaya.

Sentencing is schedule for next Friday.

The gunman allegedly hid behind a sign and opened fire on the family with a shotgun -- a shooting that was partially captured by a security camera. Colbert was arrested later in August on suspicion of driving a stolen vehicle and later linked to the shotgun slayings.

Possible motives were not addressed during the trial and there was no evidence of a connection between the victims and suspect. Colbert spent time in a state mental hospital after he was found mentally incompetent May 30 and criminal proceedings against him were suspended. Criminal proceedings were re-instated after he was deemed mentally competent to stand trial.

Colbert conducted his own defense during the trial. He testified Thursday that the case is an elaborate hoax to frame him. On Thursday, he testified in front of a jury, repeatedly referring to "Hollywood-type happenings," according to the Long Beach Press-Telegram,

Colbert took at bus from Oklahoma to Southern California, then ambushed Mancera and her daughter outside their apartment, prosecutors said. He also fired at, but missed, Luis Anaya -- Jennabel's father.

He waited behind a restaurant in downtown Long Beach for more than an hour before taking a shotgun from his suitcase, prosecutors said. Videos shown at the trial captured a figure ducking behind a sign as Mancera and Jennabel approached, according to the Press-Telegram. 

Colbert was arrested Aug. 27 in a stolen sport utility vehicle. The DNA procured after his arrest matched DNA found on a shotgun shell at the shooting scene, prosecutors said.

Copyright CNS - City News Service
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