LAKEPORT, Calif. – A Northshore man convicted last year of the 2011 murder of an Upper Lake woman has been sentenced to life in prison.
On Friday, Judge Stephen Hedstrom sentenced Daniel Ray Loyd, 54, of Nice to life without the possibility of parole for the shooting death of 48-year-old Cindy Quiett.
Before beginning to serve his life sentence, Loyd must first serve 36 years and four months in state prison based on the other charges and allegations he was convicted of at trial, according to Senior Deputy District Attorney John DeChaine.
Authorities said Loyd drove to Lucerne in a borrowed van on the morning of Sept. 13, 2011, intending to rob Quiett's boyfriend, Patrick Ryden, who Loyd said owed him for methamphetamine he had fronted him to sell.
Loyd, using a loaded .357 pistol he had borrowed from the van's owner, confronted Ryden, sticking the pistol in his face. The men struggled, with the gun pushed in the direction of Quiett, who was standing across the street direction.
The gun went off, she was struck in the stomach and died a short time later.
Lake County Sheriff's Det. John Drewrey, the case's lead detective, arrested Loyd on the day of the murder. Loyd has remained in custody since then.
Jury selection began on April 15, 2015. DeChaine prosecuted the case, with David Markham serving as the Loyd’s trial counsel. Judge Hedstrom presided at the trial.
DeChaine credited thorough detective work for the prosecution's ability to present the evidence leading to Loyd's conviction.
Loyd took the stand in his trial, admitting to being a drug dealer and testifying that he had been high on meth at the time of the shooting, at which point he also hadn't slept for 10 days.
A jury member told Lake County News after the verdict was handed down that Loyd's testimony had hurt him, rather than helped him, at trial.
In finding Loyd guilty, DeChaine said the jury unanimously rejected the defense counsel’s argument that Loyd was not the legal cause of Quiett’s death.
At trial, the defense contended that Ryden’s act of swatting the gun from his face was an intervening act and Quiett's subsequent death was unforeseeable. However, by arguing that Quiett’s death was unforeseeable, the defense unsuccessfully argued that Loyd should be absolved of legal responsibility.
On June 5, 2015, the jury reached its verdict, convicting Loyd of Quiett's murder.
In addition, the jury handed down guilty verdicts for assault with a firearm on Ryden, attempting to rob Ryden, being a felon in possession of a firearm and being a felon in possession of ammunition.
The jury also determined that Loyd had personally used a firearm in the commission of the murder, attempted robbery and assault with a firearm.
In a separate proceeding, following the jury verdicts, the court ruled that the special allegations the prosecution had alleged against Loyd were true.
Specifically, the special allegations included that Loyd had a prior strike conviction for attempted robbery in the state of Indiana, and that Loyd had two prior prison terms.
Shortly after his conviction last year, Loyd filed a motion seeking a new trial. Attorney William Conwell represented Loyd for the purposes of the new trial motion and for his sentencing, which was allowed to go forward after Loyd's new trial motion was denied on July 1, DeChaine said.
At the conclusion of the Friday sentencing hearing, Judge Hedstrom ordered that Loyd be delivered to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to begin serving his sentence, DeChaine said.
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Man sentenced to life in prison for 2011 murder
- Elizabeth Larson
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