Close X
Sunday, November 24, 2024
ADVT 
International

Indian-American sentenced to life for killing 3 teens over doorbell prank

Darpan News Desk IANS, 17 Jul, 2023 11:48 AM
  • Indian-American sentenced to life for killing 3 teens over doorbell prank

New York, July 17 (IANS) A 45-year-old Indian-origin man has been sentenced to life without parole for his role in the January 2020 car crash that killed three teenage boys in California who had pranked him by ringing his doorbell and running away.

Anurag Chandra was convicted of three counts of murder, three counts of attempted murder, and a special circumstance allegation of multiple murders was found true by the jurors in a Riverside County courtroom this April.

It took a Riverside County jury only three hours to return guilty verdicts against Chandra, a District Attorney Office release said last week.

Investigations revealed that Chandra had deliberately crashed his car into the vehicle carrying the youngsters on the night of January 19, 2020, on Temescal Canyon Road.

Chandra's victims were identified as Drake Ruiz and Daniel Hawkins of Corona and Jacob Ivascu of Riverside, who were all 16-years-old at the time.

The 18-year-old driver of Toyota Prius, as well as two other boys ages 13 and 14, were injured but survived.

The six teens were in the Prius that was forced off the road by Chandra, resulting in the car slamming into a tree on the east side of the roadway.

Chandra left the scene of the crash and returned home without reporting what occurred.

The release stated that the boys were having a sleepover and ultimately dared one of the friends to do a “doorbell ditch,” so they drove to a nearby house, according to an investigation by the California Highway Patrol.

Once there, one of the boys rang the doorbell of a home on Modjeska Summit Road and ran back to the Prius.

Chandra, who lived at the home, chased after the Prius in his 2019 Infinity Q50. As he pursued the victims, he rear-ended the Prius, and sideswiped their vehicle until they were forced to stop. The Prius made a U-turn to escape, however, Chandra continued his pursuit.

Ultimately, as both vehicles approached Squaw Mountain Road, Chandra increased his speed to 99 mph, then intentionally rammed his car into the back of the Prius, causing it to veer off the road and into a tree.

In a separate case, Chandra also pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of spousal battery and child endangerment and received credit for time already served.

Chandra has been in custody at the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside since his arrest on January 20, 2020, in connection with the homicide case.

MORE International ARTICLES

US risks losing talented H1-B visa holders to Canada: Study

US risks losing talented H1-B visa holders to Canada: Study
In 2015, then President Barack Obama allowed the spouses of H-1B visa holders to work in the US via the H4 (dependent) visa.  H4 visas are issued to dependent spouses and children who accompany H-1B, H-2A, H-2B, and H-3 visa holders to the US.

US risks losing talented H1-B visa holders to Canada: Study

$1 mn reward to nab Indian suspect in Australia murder case

$1 mn reward to nab Indian suspect in Australia murder case
Three Queensland police detectives have travelled to India and are working with authorities to find Rajwinder Singh, 38, who worked as a nurse in Innisfail, but fled the country two days after the murder, leaving behind his job, wife and three children in Australia, news.com.au reported.

$1 mn reward to nab Indian suspect in Australia murder case

NZ Indian who killed his wife's lover appeals hefty jail term

NZ Indian who killed his wife's lover appeals hefty jail term
Months of pent-up jealousy and anger drove Niraj Nilesh Prasad, 39, to break into Faiz Ali's Armagh St flat and smash his head with a hammer on February 21, 2021. Prasad, who was found guilty of murder, was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum non-parole period of 18-and-a-half years by the High Court in Christchurch in March.

NZ Indian who killed his wife's lover appeals hefty jail term

Former PM of Pakistan Imran Khan sustains bullet injury in assassination bid at PTI's long march

Former PM of Pakistan Imran Khan sustains bullet injury in assassination bid at PTI's long march
According to Geo News, the former Prime Minister has been shifted to a hospital. Sources told Geo News that four to five PTI leaders have also sustained injuries. According to the police, the suspect who opened fire on Khan's container has been arrested. The assailant, idenfied as Faisal Butt, has confessed that the former Pakistan Prime Minister was his only target.

Former PM of Pakistan Imran Khan sustains bullet injury in assassination bid at PTI's long march

Old Sikh temple in Kent to be turned into flats

Old Sikh temple in Kent to be turned into flats
The Gurdwara in Clarence Place, Gravesend, was used as a place of worship in the early 1960s until 2008, when the community moved to new premises in Saddington Street. The old building, vacant since 2010, was saved from demolition in 2020 when councillors voted against plans to flatten it and build 19 flats.

Old Sikh temple in Kent to be turned into flats

Post Leicester, report says UK Hindus 'smart, well behaved'

Post Leicester, report says UK Hindus 'smart, well behaved'
The most recent census, says the report, shows that 15.4 per cent of British Indians, nearly 50 per cent of whom are Hindus, were in professional and managerial roles, the highest proportion of any group.

Post Leicester, report says UK Hindus 'smart, well behaved'