Man who killed Oakland city councilmember’s son in Los Angeles sentenced to 35 years to life

LOS ANGELES The man who killed the son of a former Oakland city council member while he was a novice at the University of Southern California in was sentenced to years to life in prison on Monday according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney s Office Ivan Hernandez pleaded no contest in January to first-degree murder in the killing of -year-old Victor McElhaney in a botched robbery McElhaney was the son of Lynette Gibson McElhaney who served on the Oakland City Council from to At the time of his death McElhaney was a senior at USC Thornton School of Music Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J Hochman mentioned in a report in January that Hernandez s no contest plea ensures that the individual responsible for the senseless and tragic murder of Victor McElhaney will face the consequence of his actions Victor was a promising young -year old university trainee a talented drummer and current member of USC s Center for Black Cultural and Pupil Affairs whose life was cut short by an act of pure violence Hochman commented Our office will aggressively seek accountability for those who threaten the safety of our communities and we will not tolerate such heinous crimes In March McElhaney had been just outside the USC campus near Maple Avenue and Adams Boulevard when he was approached by three or four men One of the men shot McElhaney then the group fled in a car The men had tried to rob McElhaney and the friends he was with prosecutors noted When firefighters responded to the episode they detected McElhaney in critical condition He later died at the hospital Related Articles New trial date again set for East Bay woman accused of killing of -year-old Peninsula man pleads no contest to attempted kidnapping Google to pay million to settle lawsuit claiming it paid Black workers less Sunnyvale -year-old man gets life in prison for stabbing death of teen girl Fraudster Elizabeth Holmes partner launches startup in same field where she failed not Theranos McElhaney was described as a very talented musician who was already playing at a professional level when he arrived at USC One of his professors informed Bay Area News Group in that McElhaney s audition was a breath of fresh air McElhaney s death came the same week in that a Vallejo man was convicted of killing Gibson McElhaney s grandson Torian Hughes in Hernandez s restitution hearing is set for June according to the DA s office