Gang Member Convicted of Attempted Murder, Robbing Pot Dispensary in La Mesa

By Kelly Wheeler

A man was convicted today of robbery and premeditated attempted murder for a crime spree with a fellow gang member that included the near-fatal beating of an 18-year-old UC Berkeley student in the College area of San Diego.

Terrence Lavar Jarvis, 28, faces 155 years to life in prison when he is sentenced May 30.

Jurors deliberated about a day before finding Jarvis guilty of robbery, attempted robbery, shooting at an inhabited dwelling and the attempted murder of Grant Richman.

The attempted robbery count stemmed from Jarvis' May 12, 2011, attempt to rob a medical marijuana dispensary in La Mesa, during which his gun went off and narrowly missed a teenage girl. Jurors deadlocked on whether Jarvis pulled the trigger.

The other counts involved the crimes that the defendant committed with David Daniel White, who pleaded guilty last year to premeditated attempted murder and was sentenced to 22 years and eight months to life in prison.

Deputy District Attorney Christopher Lawson told jurors that Jarvis and White went on the Dec. 28, 2011, crime spree to benefit their gang.

"It's about money, respect and power," the prosecutor said. "It's about being the baddest guy on the block. Grant (Richman) paid the price because of his (Jarvis') need to be violent."

Richman was attacked at 12:35 a.m., shortly after arriving in San Diego to spend the night at a friend's home. Doctors initially thought he wouldn't survive.

Lawson said Jarvis and White began their crime spree about 1 p.m. on Dec. 27, 2011, when they went with two other men to the Emerald Hills home of fellow gang member Kevin Foster to give him a "disciplinary beating" for refusing to follow a gang order.

At 11:37 p.m., a woman was robbed at gunpoint in Mountain View. About an hour later, the defendants tried to rob another woman on El Cajon Boulevard in Rolando, Lawson said.

Minutes later, Richman was attacked and robbed as he got out of his car in front of his friend's house. He was bludgeoned in the head from behind with a double-barreled shotgun as he placed cupcakes on the roof of his car.

At 2:30 a.m., 11 shots were fired at the house in Emerald Hills where the crime spree began, Lawson said.

Defense attorney Tom Palmer said Jarvis was at the scene of the attack on Richman, but details of the event, such as who robbed the victim and who hit him, were not clear.

Palmer also contended the crime spree wasn't gang-related. "It's about two guys wanting some easy money," the defense attorney said.

Just because Jarvis has gang tattoos doesn't mean he was going to try to murder someone, Palmer told the jury.

—City News Service