AIRPORT COURTHOUSE — Sentencing has been postponed to Jan. 18 for Paul Edmond Carpenter, who was convicted of first-degree murder for the 1998 shooting death of a German tourist during a botched robbery attempt near a beachfront hotel in Santa Monica.
Carpenter, who eluded law enforcement for a decade, was scheduled to be sentenced Wednesday in Department D, Airport Branch Courthouse, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
He faces a potential sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Carpenter, a U.S. citizen, was arrested in Kingston, Jamaica in February of 2009 where he had been living and working for several years using false identification. At the time of his arrest, Carpenter was working as a driver for a BMW dealership under the name Jermaine Thomas. Jamaican authorities deported Carpenter to the U.S. to stand trial for his crimes.
He was returned to Los Angeles to stand trial.
Carpenter was convicted in October of first-degree murder and three counts of attempted second-degree robbery.
The victim had been visiting California with a group of friends when Carpenter, his girlfriend and two others attempted to rob the group behind the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel on Oct. 12, 1998.
Fietze, a building supervisor from Lobau, Germany, was fatally shot during the robbery.
Co-defendants Roshana Latiesha Roberts, 31, Lamont Dion Santos, 33, and Tyrina Lakeisha Griffin, 30, were convicted in 2001 for their roles in the crime.
kevinh@www.smdp.com
