One of the men convicted in the killing of a Palm Springs luxury retail executive was sentenced Friday to 11 years in prison.
Elijah Ray Burt Jr., 22, pleaded guilty to one count of voluntary manslaughter soon before his trial was scheduled to begin. The 11-year sentence, with about 1,200 days of credit for time served awaiting trial and $3,000 in restitution, was expected according to the plea agreement, the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office reported.
Burt’s twin brother, Emanuel Rick Burt Jr., previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit crime and was sentenced to six years in prison.
They are among four charged for a botched armed robbery that ended in the fatal shooting of Michael Moser near the Desert Premium Outlets in Cabazon on March 24, 2022. According to prosecutors, the four traveled from Victorville to the outlets with a plan to rob people there. One was charged in juvenile court.
Reginald Charles Trice, 21, and a juvenile suspect followed Moser into a bathroom after they observed he was wearing an expensive watch. They held him at gunpoint in attempt to rob him, and when he fought back he was shot at close range. The Burt brothers did not follow the other two into the bathroom.
The men who set out to rob him all ran away when the gun went off and didn’t get the $20,000 watch they were trying to steal, nor any of Moser’s other belongings.
Moser, 66, was not discovered injured in the bathroom for twenty minutes and soon died. He had led a successful career as a luxury retail executive for prominent companies like Tiffany & Co., Chanel and Harry Winston.
Trice was the sole defendant to take his case to trial, with his lawyer arguing he did not pull the trigger on purpose, but the gun went off accidentally as Moser was being robbed and fought back. Trice was convicted Aug. 4 of murder, attempted robbery, conspiracy to commit crime and unlawful possession of a firearm. He is scheduled to be sentenced in October.
Christopher Damien covers public safety and the criminal justice system for The Desert Sun. He can be reached at christopher.damien@desertsun.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Accomplice gets 11 years in prison for killing Palm Springs man
Reporting by Christopher Damien, Palm Springs Desert Sun / Palm Springs Desert Sun
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