By Annie Burris
Orange County Register
LONG BEACH, Calif. — A Long Beach man was recently sentenced to five years in state prison on charges of attempting to murder a man in Huntington Beach after an argument about marijuana sales.
Robert Kurt Jones pleaded guilty in Orange County Superior Court to attempted murder and was sentenced to five years in state prison last month.
A second man involved in the crime, Jovan Deonte Barber, is slated to be sentenced Jan. 8. He faces 25 years to life in prison. Barber, also of Long Beach, was found guilty of attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, using a firearm, and possession of a loaded and concealed firearm with gang and weapon enhancements.
The crime occurred Feb.19, 2004, when a man was shot in the back in Huntington Beach, according to a police press release. The victim would not cooperate with officers initially, but later told detectives that he was shot during a dispute about marijuana sales, the release said.
Detectives arrested the two three years later after extensive surveillance, the report said.
“This was an excellent example of persistence and team work by the members of the Huntington Beach Police Department,” the press release said.
Copyright 2009 Orange County Register