Man convicted of killing tourist in 1998

LOS ANGELES - A Los Angeles Superior Court jury on Monday convicted a former fugitive charged with the 13-year-old slaying of a German tourist.Jurors deliberated a day and a half before convicting Paul Edmond Carpenter, 34, of the first-degree murder of Horst Fietze, 52. The jury also found true a special circumstance allegation of murder during the course of a robbery. Carpenter will be sentenced on Nov. 30 and faces life in prison without the possibility of parole. Carpenter, a U.S. citizen, was arrested in Jamaica where he had been living and working for several years using false identification. Jamaican authorities deported Carpenter to the United States in 2009 to stand trial. Fietze had been visiting California with a group of friends when Carpenter, his girlfriend and two others attempted to rob the group in Santa Monica on Oct. 12, 1998. Fietze was fatally shot during the robbery. Roshana Latiesha Roberts, 31, Lamont Dion Santos, 33, and Tyrina Lakeisha Griffin, 30, were convicted in 2001 in connection with the crimes.

********** Published: October 27, 2011 - Volume 10 - Issue 28