Close X
Thursday, November 14, 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

Attacked at home, Afghan Sikhs find community on Long Island

Attacked at home, Afghan Sikhs find community on Long Island
Sikhs and Hindus make up only a tiny fraction of the population of Afghanistan, which is almost entirely Muslim. Under the Taliban in the late 1990s, they were asked to identify themselves by wearing yellow armbands or badges, reminiscent of Nazi Germany, and in recent years they have been repeatedly targeted by extremists.

Attacked at home, Afghan Sikhs find community on Long Island

Newly reported monkeypox cases dip worldwide: WHO

Newly reported monkeypox cases dip worldwide: WHO
In the week from August 15-21, there were 21 per cent fewer cases than in the previous week, dpa news agency quoted the global health body as saying in a statement issued on Thursday. In the previous four weeks, the numbers had been rising.

Newly reported monkeypox cases dip worldwide: WHO

Indian-American missing in US national park amid heavy rain

Indian-American missing in US national park amid heavy rain
As heavy rain has lashed parts of the US, a search is underway for an Indian-American woman who went missing during a flash flood in Utah's Zion National Park.  On Monday, park spokesman Jonathan Shafer said that the search for Jetal Agnihotri, 29, who was swept away by a flash flood on August 19, has been extended.

Indian-American missing in US national park amid heavy rain

Two pilots fall asleep as flight misses landing in Addis Ababa

Two pilots fall asleep as flight misses landing in Addis Ababa
Data obtained by the website indicates that the aircraft was cruising at 37,000 feet on autopilot when it failed to descend at Addis Ababa Bole International Airport, its scheduled destination, on August 15.

Two pilots fall asleep as flight misses landing in Addis Ababa

Trump ex-CFO pleads guilty to tax evasion, remains loyal former Prez

Trump ex-CFO pleads guilty to tax evasion, remains loyal former Prez
Trump was not charged. Weissleberg, a former CFO in Trump's businesses, pleaded guilty to 15 charges of felony involving tax evasion under the plea bargain deal his lawyers negotiated, citing his advanced age, but he never turned on his former boss. 

Trump ex-CFO pleads guilty to tax evasion, remains loyal former Prez

Rushdie's attacker says he's surprised author survived stabbing

Rushdie's attacker says he's surprised author survived stabbing
Hadi Matar, 24, said Rushdie, 75, was "someone who attacked Islam" but did not confirm that his actions were driven by a fatwa issued by Iran in the 1980s, reports dpa news agency. Matar pleaded not guilty through his lawyer to charges stemming from the assault and is currently being held at Chautauqua County Jail, in New York state.

Rushdie's attacker says he's surprised author survived stabbing