A fugitive for nearly a decade, South Los Angeles resident Paul Edmond Carpenter was sentenced Thursday to 32 years to life in state prison for his role in the 1998 slaying of a German tourist near Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel.
Carpenter, 35, was convicted of murder two years ago in the October 1998 killing of Horst Fietz during a botched robbery. Carpenter's sentencing was repeatedly delayed while his defense attorney contemplated filing a motion for a new trial.
Fietze, 50, a building supervisor from Lobau, Germany who was vacationing in California with his wife and friends, was fatally shot near the seaside hotel when he refused to hand over a handbag to three robbers, Carpenter among them. The robbers escaped in a getaway car.
Within two years, using hotel security camera footage and fingerprint evidence, police had arrested the gunman, the driver and an accomplice. They were convicted in 2001.
But for 11 years, Carpenter eluded arrest while living under an assumed name in Jamaica. He reportedly worked at a BMW dealership and fathered a son.
In 2007, the FBI asked for the publics' help finding Carpenter. It offered a reward of up to $20,000 for information that would lead to his arrest and featured him on "America's Most Wanted."
It worked, and in 2009, Carpenter was arrested and returned to Santa Monica to stand trial on charges of murder and attempted robbery.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney's office sought a prison term of 23 years to life. Carpenter will have a chance for parole, the Associated Press reported.
— City News Service contributed to this report.
