A man who killed three teens after they pulled a doorbell prank has been found guilty of murder.
Anurag Chandra, from California, has been convicted of first-degree murder on Friday after a 'ding dong ditch' prank left him infuriated enough to allegedly go on a killing spree.
According to the Press-Enterprise, the three boys responsible for the prank, Daniel Hawkins, Jacob Ivascu, and Drake Ruiz, were killed. Three others were injured including the driver, Sergio Campusano, who was 18 at the time, as well as two other boys, Joshua Hawkins, then 13, and Joshua Ivascu, then 14.
During his trial, Chandra testified that he saw a hooded person in front of his home on January 19, 2020, which made him fear for his family's safety. Because of this, he got into his vehicle and chased down the perpetrators of the prank so he could "verbally express his anger."
However, after a lengthy chase, Chandra's 2019 Infiniti hit the back of the teens' 2002 Toyota Prius when they suddenly braked in front of him, which sent the Prius skidding into a tree, subsequently killing three of the boys and injuring the others.
Chandra then drove home, telling the court that the reason why he didn't stop at the site of the crash was because "he didn’t realize anyone was injured and didn’t believe he was responsible for the collision."
However, crash-reconstruction expert on the side of the prosecution stated that the details of the crash did not match Chandra's recount of events as it was revealed that he was driving 99 mph in a 40 mph zone at one point during the chase.
Other details disclosed that he had drank 12 bottles of Corona Premiere between 7:30 PM. to 10 PM before getting into the vehicle.
As per the outlet, following his arrest, Chandra told Investigator Steve Cuevas that he "very, very rarely" drank alcohol.
Speaking of the death of the teens, county district attorney Mike Hestrin described it as a "senseless tragedy."
"The murder of these young men was a horrendous and senseless tragedy for our community. I thank the jury for their verdict. This is an important step toward justice," Hestrin said in a statement.
One of the victims' and one of the surviving teens' father, Alex Ivascu, said it was "difficult" to watch his son take the stand, as per the New York Times.
"The confirmation from the jury that nothing he did that night caused the death of his brother and best friends has brought him a new level of peace and healing," Ivascu wrote.
Sky News reported that Chandra was convicted in a Riverside County courtroom, after which his attorney David Wohl described the verdict as "unfortunate."
"We didn’t think in any way, shape or form that it was a first-degree murder,”"he said, also adding that "there was a lot of passion surrounding this case for the past three years."
"We feel there are quite a few issues that are ripe for appeal,” he further explained, stating that the defense exposed a "great deal of corruption that was done in this investigation" in their arguments.
On the other hand, Kevin Beecham, a deputy district attorney, told the New York Times in a statement via email that the prosecution was "very pleased that justice was served for the victims and mourn with their families over the losses they suffered."
