Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : Judge Sentences Man to Prison in Slaying of Sylmar Woman

LANCASTER — An Agua Dulce man was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison for second-degree murder Wednesday in connection with the shooting death of a Sylmar woman in 1992.

Lancaster Superior Court Judge Haig Kehiayan imposed the sentence on Jason M. Richardson, 21, who had pleaded guilty April 30 rather than face trial. After the Sept. 6 shooting, Richardson and a teen-age friend who fired the fatal shots had taken the dead woman’s car on a cross-country trip.

Daniel R. Luster, 15, of Canyon Country was convicted of murder in Sylmar Juvenile Court on Oct. 30. He was sentenced to the California Youth Authority until he turns 25, although CYA officials could release him earlier if they determine that he is rehabilitated.

They were sentenced in the fatal shooting of Mary Louise Glover, 34, and the wounding of her mother, Mary Lou Glover, 64, both of Sylmar. At the time, the elder Glover, a friend of Richardson’s parents, was housesitting for them in Agua Dulce.

“For a car, a person is killed. It’s just a terrible tragedy,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Steve Ogden, who prosecuted Richardson.

Authorities said Richardson and Luster had wanted to drive to Ohio, where Richardson had a friend. The pair and Luster’s girlfriend were arrested Sept. 8 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Ogden said Richardson’s parents had a housesitter because they didn’t want their son associating with Luster during their absence. Richardson suffers from two behavioral disorders--fetal alcohol syndrome and Tourette syndrome--that his attorney contended made him susceptible to Luster’s influence.