The man accused of fatally shooting Los Angeles philanthropist Jacqueline Avant last week was officially charged on Monday with her murder.
via NYDN:
Aariel Maynor, 29, of Los Angeles, was charged with one count each of murder, attempted murder and felony with a firearm as well as two counts of residential burglary with person present, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced.
Out on parole , Maynor allegedly broke into the home that Jacqueline Avant, 81, shared with her husband, music industry titan Clarence Avant, at about 2:30 a.m. Wednesday, and shot her dead in the horrific home invasion, police said.
He also took a shot at a private security guard but missed, police said, leading to the second set of charges. Clarence Avant was not injured either.
The district attorney’s office described the weapon, an AR-15, as “an assault long barrel pistol.”
He is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
Jacqueline Avant was rushed to the hospital but did not survive.
“Mrs. Avant was a treasured member of our community. Her generosity and good will touched so many lives,” District Attorney Gascón said in a statement. “My office is working closely with the Los Angeles and Beverly Hills police departments in the investigation and prosecution of this case. We must continue to work together to hold accountable the people who commit violent crimes against our community.”
After allegedly shooting her, Maynor was caught on surveillance video driving east into the Hollywood Hills to try his luck at a different home, but shot himself in the foot in the backyard instead. Police nailed him by focusing on the weapon after being called to the second home, seven miles away, at around 3:30 a.m.
A beloved and prominent philanthropist, Jacqueline Avant supported Neighbors of Watts, the South Central Community Child Care Center and UCLA’s international student center and other causes.
She and Clarence Avant, 90, had been married for 54 years, since 1967, and flourished as he rose to become one of the most influential people in the music industry, promoting Black musicians including Bill Withers, Antonio “LA” Reid, Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds and Sean “Diddy” Combs, among many others.
Earlier this year he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and he was the subject of a Netflix documentary, “The Black Godfather,” centered around the Hollywood Walk of Fame star he earned in 2016.
Condolences and accolades have poured in from the likes of Bill Clinton, basketball icon Earvin “Magic” Johnson, music star Quincy Jones and Rep. Karen Bass, D-California, among many others from all spheres of life.
“The heaviness of my heart today is unlike any other that I have ever experienced in my life,” Jones said on Instagram. “She was the purest of souls in every sense, & was the Rock of Gibraltar for Clarence, their children, her friends, & community. We are all, every single one of us, better people because Jacquie was in our lives.”
He deserves to spend the rest of his life behind bars.
