Man Sentenced to Life in Slaying of LAPD Detective's Son

A 20-year-old man convicted of murdering the 18-year- old son of a Los Angeles Police Department Robbery-Homicide detective was sentenced today to a no-parole life prison term.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Bob S. Bowers Jr. also ordered Devin Stephen Davis to serve an additional 25-years-to-life term for personally discharging a firearm in the May 11, 2007, slaying of Bryant Alexander Tennelle.

The judge noted that there were "no mitigating factors" in imposing the term.

Davis was 17 at the time of the crime, but was prosecuted and sentenced as an adult.

The victim's father, Wallace Tennelle, noted that he had "seen my share of people killed for no reason at all" during his years as a police detective.

Tennelle urged the judge to sentence the defendant as an adult rather than a juvenile, saying that Davis "felt man enough to pull the trigger" and should be sentenced as a man.

The victim's brother, Wallace Tennelle Jr., said he wanted Davis to know that "the first detective at the scene of the crime was the father of the person murdered."

The defendant's mother, Sandra James, told the judge that her sympathy goes out to the victim's family, but she maintained "my child didn't do this."

Co-defendant Derrick Victor Starks, now 26, is awaiting sentencing. He also faces life in prison without parole plus 25 years to life.

Both men were convicted last month of first-degree murder, with jurors finding true a special circumstance allegation that the murder was carried out to further the activities of a criminal street gang. The victim was walking with friends in the 1800 block of West 80th Street in South Los Angeles when he was shot in the head. He died at the scene.

Authorities said the defendants may have mistakenly perceived the victim to be a gang member.