Man arrested for murdering Jacqueline Avant during home invasion sentenced to 150 years in prison

The man who shot and killed the wife of famed music producer Clarence Avant last year in a Beverly Hills home invasion gone wrong has been sentenced to a minimum of 150 years in prison, after it was revealed he bragged to friends over the phone about the crime from jail following his arrest.   

Aariel Maynor, who confessed last month to fatally shooting 81-year-old philanthropist Jacqueline Avant during a botched raid of the couple’s $7million mansion in December, was handed the life sentence in Los Angeles County court Friday afternoon, more than four months after the killing.

The hearing, which had been slated to take place late last month but was postponed after Maynor refused to leave his cell, saw a judge throw the book at Maynor for the killing of Avant, as well as the attempted murder of a security guard who he shot at during the December 1 break-in. 

During Tuesday’s trial, Deputy District Attorney Victor Avila said the December 1 break-in was ‘premeditated,’ and that Avant ‘researched’ Clarence Avant’s name online before the 2:30 am home invasion and hoped to make off with valuable belongings with the planned heist.

‘He shot a completely vulnerable victim, 81 years old, no match for him, and she was caught by surprise,’ Judge Kathryn Solorzano said before announcing the sentence.

‘And then he left (her) there and compounded the issue by firing multiple rounds at the unarmed security guard,’ the jurist further remarked, referring to the attempted murder charge for shooting at the night watchmen.

The sentence, which comprises three life terms, comes on the heels of a courthouse revelation from prosecutors that Maynor ‘laughed’ to friends from a Los Angeles lock-up about the crime following his arrest, and the publicity surrounding it, in two separate phone calls, which were played for the judge Tuesday before the ruling.  

‘That’s not funny. That somebody’s life,’ the unidentified woman replied during the December call, sentencing documents filed by district attorneys revealed.

Seemingly unbothered, Maynor, a career criminal with a laundry list of charges including assault, robbery, and grand theft, continued to boast about the attention the crime – which saw the con shoot Jacqueline in the back – had received, noting he ‘was all over the news.’ 

‘You think my mama’s seen that, though?’ the filing cites Maynor as saying.

The crook, who was paroled from state prison three months before shooting Avant, told the woman he expected to get $50,000 from the burglary, the document shows.

However, he then encountered Jacqueline, who cops say was awake in the Bel-Air home and startled the burglar, spurring him to shoot and leave emptyhanded.

Maynor then explained how after the burglary on the Avant house failed, he went to another home in the Hollywood Hills and attempted another robbery. 

The effort, however, was again foiled, when cops investigating Avant’s murder tracked her killer down to the backyard of the Hollywood home, after he mistakenly shot himself in the foot with the same rifle he used to kill Avant.

The filing also details another jailhouse call placed before Christmas, where Maynor boasted, mistakenly to another friend that DAs were not seeking death penalty or life sentence in the case, saying he would ‘get out of jail’ in ‘like 20-25 years.’  

‘I’m going get out of jail,’ Maynor reportedly told the unidentified male during the exchange. ‘I’ll probably do like 20- 25 years, [and] get out – you feel me?’ 

Upon hearing the calls and prosecutors’ arguments, Judge Solorzano said that Maynor ‘planned’ the botched burglary, citing searches relating to Clarence Avant found on the defendant’s smartphone.

The jurist added that Maynor was ‘essentially giggling about the commission of the offense,’ and cited another call where the convicted killer could be heard ‘bragging’ about plans to obtain an illicit cell phone when he got to state prison.

In a sentencing memo, prosecutors revealed that Clarence had been seated on the floor behind his wife, ‘holding her head,’ when cops arrived at the couple’s home in a closed-off community in Bel-Air.

At that point, the filing revealed, Jacqueline was ‘breathing faintly’ but could not open her eyes and ‘had trouble answering’ officers surveying the crime scene.

‘There are no words to describe the nightmare we have endured due to the cruel and vicious acts of the defendant,’ daughter Nicole Avant, who is married to Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos, said in statement detailing the impact the killing has had on Avant’s family over the past four-and-a-half months, read by prosecutors.

‘We are shattered,’ Avant, 54, wrote. 

Prosecutors fought tooth and nail to hand Maynor the stark sentence, after the killer pleaded guilty to the murder, as well as a consecutive 43-year term for other crimes relating to the break-in, including the attempted murder of the unnamed guard, in March. 

The guard was not wounded during the December 1 break-in- which saw cops arrive at the home in Trousdale Estates around 2.30am, after they ‘received a phone call regarding a shooting that had occurred’ at the residence, cops said in a statement following the incident.

Officers arriving at the scene discovered Jacqueline still alive suffering from a single gunshot wound to the back. 

She was transported to a local hospital, but died later that morning. 

‘Police units arrived and discovered a victim with a gunshot wound,’ the statement said. ‘The suspect(s) were no longer on the scene.’   

An hour later, Los Angeles Police Department officers were called to a home in the Hollywood Hills – about seven miles  from the Avant residence – for a reported shooting. 

They found Maynor there, as well as evidence of a burglary at that home, and took him into custody.

Maynor accidentally shot himself in the foot while breaking into the Hollywood Hills home. An LAPD watch commander ‘put two and two together’ and reached out to Beverly Hills investigators. 

Clarence, a music icon renowned as ‘The Black Godfather,’ was in the home at the time, but was not injured.

Following Jacqueline’s death, tributes from friends of the high-profile including from Bill Clinton and Magic Johnson flooded in, with filmmaker Tyler Perry then vowing to devote ‘every available resource’ to track down those responsible.

In a statement to DailyMail.com, the victim’s family said: ‘The entire Avant and Sarandos families wish to thank everyone for their outpouring of love, support and heartfelt condolences for Jacqueline Avant.’

‘Jacqueline was an amazing woman, wife, mother and philanthropist and a 55 year resident of Beverly Hills who has made an immeasurable positive impact on the arts community. She will be missed by her family, friends and all of the people she has helped throughout her amazing life,’ said the grieving family. 

In a published statement at the time, Los Angeles Sentinel owner and family friend Danny Bakewell Sr said that Clarence Avant was ‘currently grieving but resting with his family.’

Photos of the crime scene showed a broken sliding glass door on the rear of the couple’s home, with shards of glass strewn about the outdoor pool deck.

Jacqueline was a local philanthropist who once modeled in the Ebony Fashion Fair, served as president of the Neighbors of Watts, a support group that focused on child care. She also served on the board of directors of the International Student Center at UCLA. 

She also worked as chairperson of NOW membership and entertainment chairperson of the NOW benefit auction and dinner dance in 1975, according to IMDb. 

Her husband, Clarence , is known as the ‘Godfather of Black Music’ and was recently inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Former President Barack Obama and Vice President Kamala Harris were among those who paid tribute to him in a video made for the induction ceremony in October.

Avant’s daughter, Nicole, is married to Ted Sarandos, Netflix co-CEO and chief content officer. 

Nicole Avant, who served as U.S. ambassador to the Bahamas from 2009 to 2011, is now a film producer whose work includes a 2019 Netflix documentary about her father, ‘The Black Godfather.’ In an interview with NBC News about the documentary, she praised her mother.

‘My mom is really the one who brought to my father and our family the love and passion and importance of the arts and culture and entertainment,’ she said. ‘While my father was in it, making all the deals, my mother was the one who gave me, for example, my love of literature, my love of filmmaking, my love of storytelling.’

Clarence Avant — who boast an estimated net worth of $50 million — is a Grammy-winning executive, concert promoter and manager who mentored and helped the careers of artists including Bill Withers, Little Willie John, L.A. Reid, Babyface, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.

He founded Sussex Records and Tabu Records in the 1960s and 1970s, and was chair of Motown Records in the 1990s.

The crime comes as Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón continues to draw criticism for his soft penalties on criminals, amid a recent rash of ‘follow home; robberies across upscale nabes in Southern California county.

The wave of robberies sees suspects, often repeat offenders, stalk residents of affluent areas as they leave ritzy boutiques, hotels, and restaurants before striking, taking advantage of the lax laws that allow them back on the street hours after their alleged crimes.

In November, the Los Angeles Police Department created division designed to combat the robberies – Follow Home Robbery Task Force. 

The force – which includes 18 detectives – was created on November 23. 

Since then, a total of 221 follow-home robberies have been reported – with a further 45 coming before the task force’s creation. 

During Tuesday’s briefing, Tippet and other cops criticized laws that saw two suspects the task force arrested in connection with the crimes put back on the street while awaiting trial days after their offenses.

Meanwhile, the city has seen violent robberies and smash-and-grab thefts have skyrocket. Robberies are up nearly 18 percent in the year-to-date compared to 2021, while those involving a firearm have surged by nearly 50 percent in the same time period. 

Assaults are also up marginally, by 4.4 percent, with violent crimes overall up seven percent, statistics from the LAPD reveal. 

‘We have seen countless individuals traumatized by having a gun pointed at them and (being) robbed,’ said Tippet during the press conference, which was held to brief the civilian Police Commission on the task force’s work since its formation last fall. 

‘Many others are dealing with the trauma and injuries from being tackled, kicked, beaten, punched and are pistol whipped to the head. 

‘It’s a miracle that more deaths have not occurred,’ the cop added, referring to the two deaths that have come from the more than 100 incidents.

In a four-week period from September to October, Tippet revealed, there were 45 robberies fitting the ‘follow home’ criteria. In November, there were another 39, with        

In November, days before the attack on the Avant house, a crew of masked robbers stalked former BET host Terrence Jenkins, 39, on his way to his Sherman Oaks home, and attempted to trap the actor by pulling up aside his car in an SUV at around 3am PT on November 10. Jenkins was able to flee the scene unscathed, but shots were fired.

Roughly a month prior, Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Dorit Kemsley’s home was invaded by an armed gang as her kids slept, on October 27. 

The attack saw men break into the 45-year-old reality star’s residence just before 11 p.m. and proceed to hold her at gunpoint, a source close to Kemsley revealed to DailyMail.com at the time.

The incidents spurred LA police to set up the task force, Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore said at the time, citing that the department has not seen violent hold-ups ‘like this in decades.’

Source: dailymail