HOLLYWOOD—The suspect responsible for fatally shooting another man outside of a Hollywood nightclub in 2013 has been found guilty of murder. Robert Earl Thomas III, 23, was found guilty on July 16 of one count of first-degree murder.
According to a press release from the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office, jurors spent less than a day deliberating charges against the suspect. They also found true gang and gun allegations. Thomas shot and killed Andre Lowe, 19 outside of the Empire Club at 2 a.m. on January 13, 2013. The incident was captured on video, which depicted the victim and two of his friends walking to their vehicle at the club’s parking lot.
Court testimony indicated that a man claiming to be a Carver Park gang member approached the victim and his group. An individual from the group announced they do not “gang bang the man” and this led to others to assault the group, prosecutors noted.
When the suspect tried to flee the scene of the crime in his Porsche Cayenne, he ran over Lowe’s body. Thomas was apprehended several days later in Las Vegas. Thomas faces 50 years to life in state prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced on September 2.
