Newport man’s death sentence upheld

-- Greg Risling

The state Supreme Court on Monday upheld the death sentence of a former

Newport Beach resident who shot two men in a drug deal gone bad and then

threatened to kill his own mother because she was scheduled to testify

against him.

Richard L. Phillips, 50, has been on death row at San Quentin Prison for

20 years for the 1977 killing of a business associate and his friend. The

panel of judges found no inaccuracies with a previous ruling by a lower

court.

Phillips gunned down two men while they sat in a car off Highway 99 in

Madera County. Phillips wanted to meet them so he could receive the

remainder of money owed to him by the victims for a $25,000 cocaine deal.

Phillips shot both men several times and then poured gasoline on their

car to cover his crime. One of the victims barely survived. Phillips was

found three months later in Salt Lake City.

The defendant claims he shot the two men because he saw a gun lying in

the car and feared for his own safety. Prosecutors argued Phillips wanted

the money owed to him and was furious when the men didn’t produce the

cash.

Phillips was found guilty by a jury in 1980. The state Supreme Court

upheld his conviction in 1985 but overturned the death sentence. A

retrial occurred several months later and a jury decided Phillips should

be sentenced to death.

Defense attorney Donald Horvath argued that one of the prosecution’s

witnesses committed perjury while testifying and claimed his client

wasn’t given due process while he appealed his case.