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A man convicted of killing nine people, including six monks, during a robbery at a Buddhist
temple to which his mother and brother belonged was sentenced on Friday to 249 years in prison.
Johnathan A. Doody was found guilty in January of first-degree *** in the deaths of six
monks, one nun and two helpers who were shot in the back of the head and were placed face-down
in a circle in August 1991 at the Wat Promkunaram temple west of Phoenix. Doody's brother and
mother were not there the night of the shootings. Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Joseph
Kreamer said it's difficult to fathom the murders. "These people were peace-loving,"
Kreamer said. "These people didn't seek violence." Doody, who was 17 at the time of the crimes,
was one of two men convicted in the killings. Allesandro "Alex" Garcia, a high school friend
of Doody's, pleaded guilty and was previously sentenced to life in prison in exchange for
his testimony and a promise that prosecutors wouldn't seek the death penalty.
During the retrials, Garcia described for jurors how the crime was Doody's idea, aimed
at stealing about $2,600 cash and valuables from the monks. Garcia said he tried to persuade
Doody not to kill the victims after the robbery, but Doody was determined to leave behind no
witnesses. Police found the stolen items at Garcia's
house, where Doody was staying at the time. Doody, who maintains he is innocent of the
crimes, declined to make comments to the judge before the sentence was handed down.
"We hope this sentence makes him suffer for the rest of his life," Barb Heller, who spoke
on behalf of the temple, told the jury before the sentence was given.