SANTA ANA (CNS) – A Garden Grove resident was sentenced today to 114 years to life in prison for killing a man and wounding two others in Santa Ana in payback for a drug deal gone bad. Dustin Sean Ross McDonald, 25, was convicted June 14 of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder. Jurors also found true sentencing enhancements for firing a gun causing death and attempted murder with premeditation and deliberation. Orange County Superior Court Judge John Conley handed down the maximum punishment. He said the “horrible” nature of the crimes outweighed the defendant’s lack of criminal history and mental disorder.
Defense attorney Kira Rubin requested 50 years to life, saying client has a history of mental illness mixed with drug use. But Conley said that would not be a “fair or just” sentence.
“It’s not that Mr. McDonald is a horrible person. But what happened that night was horrible…,” the judge said. “The crime is so, so bad, compared to his mental condition and lack of criminal record.”
The mother of 23-year-old Aaron Chavez told Conley how police broke the news to her of her son’s death. When her husband rushed home, “the hardest thing to tell him was that Aaron was no longer with us… We were both inconsolable. After they left would come the difficulty of telling our children that their brother had been murdered,” Sandy Chavez said.
She said about 600 mourners attended the funeral of her son, who was a varsity wrestler and team captain in high school.
“He had an aura that people were drawn to,” she said. “His infectious personality caught the attention of everyone he met. Aaron had the `it’ factor. Aaron was a polite, intelligent, well-spoken, talented musician who dreamt to someday produce his own music. Aaron was a talented pianist, keyboardist and vocalist. Aaron was a huge fan of the Doors and he could play and sing all of their songs.”
McDonald set up a meeting about 11:30 p.m. on Aug. 12, 2014, with Chavez and his on-again, off-again girlfriend, 21-year-old Ashlee Caldwell, Senior Deputy District Attorney Keith Burke said. Caldwell and Chavez were “heavy drug users” who also dealt drugs, according to the prosecutor, who said they would sell “fake drugs” at times. Caldwell sold McDonald methamphetamine, and later the defendant “reached out to her to let her know the product was no good,” Burke told jurors. Caldwell “checked with her supplier,” who confirmed it “was bad,” so she “promised to make it up to him,” the prosecutor said.
Before meeting with McDonald, the two picked up 28-year-old Ingrid Gonzalez, a friend who was working at a restaurant and wanted a ride to her boyfriend’s place, Burke said. Caldwell and the defendant sent text messages to each other before the deadly confrontation, he said. They met near Main and 12th streets and McDonald approached Caldwell in the driver’s seat of her sedan, Burke said. Caldwell motioned for McDonald to make the drug deal on the passenger side where Chavez was sitting, he said. As McDonald got over to the passenger side, he pulled out a Beretta 9 mm and opened fire on Chavez, shooting the victim in the face, Burke said. The defendant got off at least 10 shots, with Caldwell getting hit four times and Gonzalez three times, Burke said. Caldwell was also shot in the face and needed plastic surgery, while Gonzalez sustained nerve damage in one arm and still has issues with her ability to use it, Burke said.