Anurag Chandra, an Indian-origin resident of Riverside, California, has been found guilty of killing three teenage boys who played a doorbell-ringing prank at his house, according to local media reports.
The jury took only three hours to convict Chandra of three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of attempted murder.
“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,” county District Attorney Mike Hestrin said in a statement.
David Wohl, an attorney for Chandra, called the verdict "unfortunate."
"We didn't think in any way, shape or form that it was a first-degree murder," he said, adding that "there was a lot of passion surrounding this case for the past three years." Wohl said he would file a motion for a new trial on Chandra's behalf and would appeal the guilty verdict if the motion was denied.
The incident took place on January 19, 2020, when a group of teenage boys rang Chandra's bell on a dare before driving away in a Toyota Prius. Chandra said in his testimony that one of the teens flashed his buttocks before they drove off.
Chandra chased down their car on Temescal Canyon Road — at one point driving 99 mph in a 40-mph zone — and slammed into the teens’ car, sending it sliding into a tree, authorities said.
The defendant testified that he had been afraid for his family's safety that night when he saw a person with a hooded sweatshirt outside his home, and that he chased down the other car to verbally express his anger, The Press-Enterprise newspaper reported.
He also testified that he had drunk 12 bottles of beer on the night of the crash, the newspaper reported.
Chandra followed the boys and rammed their Toyota Prius off the road, which slammed into a tree in Temescal Valley. The crash killed three of the six teenagers who were in the car.
The driver, who was 18 years old, survived, along with two 13-year-old passengers.
Corona residents Daniel Hawkins and Drake Ruiz passed away due to their injuries, along with Riverside resident Jacob Ivascu.
Chandra also testified that he did not plan to crash into the boys' car, and that he did not stop after rear-ending their vehicle because he did not think anyone had been injured.
Chandra is already facing charges in connection with a domestic violence incident in 2020 before the fatal crash. He was vice president of a company in Buena Park that sells essential oils to big-box stores.
He is set to face sentencing on July 14 and could be given life in prison without the possibility of parole, the New York Times newspaper reported.
