A 40-year-old Lynwood man was sentenced Monday morning to more than 400 years in prison for a series of robberies, burglaries and sexual assaults that targeted elderly women in Long Beach.
As he handed down the sentence, Judge James D. Otto called Melvin Earl Farmer Jr.’s crimes outrageous. In one case, Farmer severely beat a victim and threatened to stab her with a kitchen knife, the judge recounted.
“The victims were particularly vulnerable due to their age,” Otto said. Four of the five women were between the ages of 60 and 90, making them an easier target, the judge said.
In total, Otto sentenced Farmer to 280 years to life in prison plus an additional 143 years for enhancements filed on the charges.
With a rosary hanging around his neck, Farmer looked unmoved upon hearing his sentencing and the breakdown of the years he is scheduled to serve. At times, he looked around the room but only spoke aloud in response to the judge.
In July, Farmer was convicted of 13 felony counts including rape, residential robbery, burglary, elder abuse, dissuading a witness, assault and sexual battery by restraint.
The incidents occurred during a weeklong spree between Feb. 2 and Feb. 9, 2017. Authorities said most of his crimes were at a senior housing complex near Atlantic Avenue and Via Carmelitos.
Jurors hung on a 14th count alleging Farmer raped a 24-year-old woman in the weeks before the spree.
Victims were able to face their attacker and speak out about the damage done to them during a hearing earlier this month.
One woman commented on the trauma that was inflicted on her. “I no longer feel safe, especially after dark,” she said in a statement read aloud by a friend.
The judge called Farmer “a serious danger to society.”
“It’s hard to believe, sir, that you will ever be paroled for this case,” Otto said.
No other words were spoken by Farmer except at the end of his hearing while a bailiff escorted him out of the room and into custody. He turned back and locked eyes with two men in the audience.
“Love y’all”, Farmer said.
“Love you too,” they said.
A Lynwood woman, 33-year-old Sophia Yim, was also convicted of helping Farmer in one of the attacks on Feb. 9, 2017. She pleaded no contest to one count of burglary and one count of robbery and was sentenced to five years of probation.