Drug dealer gets 11 years in killing of LA studio exec
LOS ANGELES – A convicted drug dealer has been sentenced to 11 years in prison for his role in the beating death of a Southern California movie studio executive five years ago.
John Lenzie Creech was convicted in July of voluntary manslaughter in the slaying of Gavin Smith, a 20th Century Fox distribution executive.
A jury rejected first- or second-degree murder charges.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Stephen A. Marcus sentenced the 44-year-old Creech on Tuesday.
The prosecution said Creech killed the 57-year-old Smith because Smith was having an affair with his wife.
Creech’s public defender said Creech hit Smith in self-defence after the executive attacked him.
Smith disappeared in 2012.
His remains were found in 2014 in the desert north of Los Angeles.
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