By Brian Brant
(POWAY, Calif.) The gunman who killed one person and injured three, including an 8-year-old girl and a Southern California Chabad rabbi left without a finger, pleaded guilty Tuesday to avoid the death penalty for the 2019 shooting, CBS News reports.
John T. Earnest, 22, agreed to serve the rest of his life in state prison without the possibility of parole.
"While we reserved the option of trying this as a death penalty case, life in prison without the possibility of parole for the defendant is an appropriate resolution to this violent hate crime and we hope it brings a measure of justice and closure to the victims, their families, friends and the wider community," the San Diego County district attorney's office said. "This plea ensures the defendant is held accountable for his crimes under California state law."
The former nursing school student used a semi-automatic rifle during the shooting on the last day of Passover services in April 2019. During the shooting, Earnest killed 60-year-old Lori Gilbert-Kaye.
Earnest then called 911 to say that he shot up the synagogue because Jews were trying to "destroy all white people."
Federal prosecutors have until Aug. 30 to determine whether he deserves the death penalty for similar federal charges. He submitted a conditional plea agreement for federal prosecutors on June 4.
The Anti-Defamation League San Diego said the state plea deal was "an important step forward in securing justice for Lori Kaye, her family, friends, loved ones, the Poway Chabad congregation, and the surrounding Jewish community, whose lives were forever changed by the actions of a man full of antisemitic hatred."
He is expected to be sentenced in state court on Sept. 30.