Jurors on Wednesday convicted a 35-year-old Compton man of murder for the slaying of a woman at a motel in North Long Beach more than six years ago.
Authorities say Terry Moore shot and killed 32-year-old Lanette Washington at the Luxury Inn on the morning of April 21, 2017.
During the trial, prosecutors attempted to cast Moore as a pimp who killed Washington following a dispute, while a defense attorney contended that the 35-year-old was not the shooter.
Though the actual slaying wasn’t captured on camera, video evidence played in court places Moore at the Luxury Inn the morning of the shooting, along with another associate.
Security footage from the motel also shows the moment multiple people, including Moore’s associate, hastily start running down several flights of stairs shortly after what prosecutors say is when the shooting happened.
Moore, whom police say fled the scene following the shooting, was eventually identified as the gunman and taken into custody a month later in Lancaster. He’s remained jailed ever since in lieu of $3.1 million bail, court records show.
Jurors took less than a day before returning with a guilty plea of first-degree murder. However, they found Moore not guilty of pandering and human trafficking.
Court records also show Moore previously pleaded no contest to battery in 2008, burglary in 2009, and domestic battery in 2016. He is due back in court on Oct. 19 for sentencing.
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