One of two men convicted in the shooting death of a security guard outside an East Village homeless shelter was sentenced Friday to 113 years to life in state prison.
Floyd Garrett, 51, was convicted by a San Diego Superior Court jury of second-degree murder for the Dec. 28, 2019, killing of Ernest Lee Buchanan, a 44-year-old guard at the Alpha Project tent shelter on Imperial Avenue in East Village.
Co-defendant Johnny Lee Hill, 44, was also convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced last year to 81 years to life in prison.
A motive for the killing was not disclosed, though Buchanan’s family members have stated at prior court hearings that Buchanan told Hill not to sell drugs near the shelter.
Prosecutors alleged surveillance footage and smart streetlight cameras captured the men waiting for Buchanan to arrive from a meal break, then both men opened fire on him in the street around 7:30 p.m. Buchanan later died at a hospital.
Another Alpha Project security guard was grazed in the leg by a bullet, and both defendants were convicted of assault with a semiautomatic firearm for his injuries.
At trial, Hill testified that he fired in self-defense because Buchanan pointed a gun at him, while prosecutors said Buchanan was unarmed and didn’t confront or provoke the men.
Both men were arrested about a week after the shooting.
