Man Is Sentenced in In-Law Slaying

A Clairemont man convicted of shooting his mother-in-law to death in the doughnut shop she managed was sentenced Friday to 27-years-to-life in state prison.

Randy Geering, 37, was found guilty of first-degree murder in his second trial March 26. The charges stemmed from the Jan. 29, 1989, death of Audrey Erbe, 59, who was shot in the head in the Winchell’s Donut House on Balboa Avenue. At the time, Geering was looking for his estranged wife.

San Diego Superior Court Judge J. Perry Langford ordered that the 7-year sentence Geering is already serving for burglarizing his estranged wife’s apartment be run consecutive to the murder term, making the total sentence 34-years-to-life.

In his first trial, Geering was convicted Nov. 15 of burglary and of exhibiting a weapon in a threatening manner in the doughnut shop, but the jury deadlocked, 11-1, for conviction on the murder charge.

Diane Geering testified at both trials that she was hiding in the shop’s bathroom after her husband angrily charged into the store, argued with her mother and shot her.

Geering testified that the shooting was accidental and that the gun fired when he turned around in response to a noise.

The judge also fined Geering $500.