USA - California. Judge Robert J. Perry sentenced Michael Thomas to death

Superior Court Judge Robert J. Perry upheld the Sept 14 (see) jury's recommendation of the death penalty for Michael Thomas, 50. Thomas was convicted of murder Sept. 8 for the Oct. 31, 2012 killing of 42-year-old Erik Poltorak. The victim, Poltorak, had been burglarized on Aug. 13, 2011. He was a witness who planned to testify against Thomas in that invasion robbery case. The 3 who Thomas coerced into murdering Poltorak are also serving time in prison. They include gunman Allen Williams, 23 years old with no prior criminal record at the time of the crime. Thomas's niece, Jessicha Thomas, was 20 years old at the time and also had no criminal record, and Yvonne Keith, 49-years-old at the time of the murder, who also pressured the other 2 into committing the murder. Williams is serving a life sentence without the chance of parole. Jessicha Thomas testified against her uncle, Michael Thomas, in exchange for a leniency agreement for 2nd-degree murder. Yvonne Keith is also serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole.