A California man, who killed three teens by ramming their car off the road after they played a doorbell prank on him, was sentenced to life in prison without possible parole this Friday.
In April, Anurag Chandra, 45, was found guilty by a jury on three counts of murder, three counts of attempted murder and a special circumstance allegation of multiple murders for the January 2020 deaths of Drake Ruiz, Daniel Hawkins and Jacob Ivaascu, all 16.
“The lives of countless families will never be the same because of one man’s anger, callousness and outrageous conduct, and I am grateful to Judge Navarro for imposing the maximum sentence in this case,” District Attorney Mike Hestrin said during the sentencing on Friday.
The victims’ families also read personal statements at the sentencing, including Daniel’s father, Craig Hawkins.
“Every day we sense the absence of this young man,” Craig said. “The hole in our hearts and lives from the taking of our son’s life is staggering.”
On the night of Jan. 19, 2020, the teens were having a sleepover and one of them was dared to play a prank commonly known as Ding-Dong Ditch.
One of the victim’s mother said, “They were celebrating a birthday and played the prank on the home of another teenager they thought lived there.”
According to the California Highway Patrol, the victims drove to a nearby home, where one of the teens jumped out of the Prius they were riding in, rang Chandra’s doorbell, jumped back into the car, and drove off.
However, this angered Chandra and he chased down the teens in his car, rear-ending and sideswiping the Prius until he ultimately accelerated to 99 mph. Chandra then purposely rammed his car into the back of the Prius, causing it to veer off the road and into a tree. Chandra didn’t report the crash and just drove away.
During the trial, Chandra testified that he became alarmed when he saw someone in front of his house with a sweatshirt hood pulled over his head.
He testified that the person rang the bell, pulled his pants down and mooned him by exposing his buttocks. Afraid for his family’s safety, he testified that he jumped in his 2019 Infinity and chased the Prius.
He also testified that he drank 12 beers in less than three hours before the teens rang his bell. He claimed that he hit the Prius from behind when it suddenly braked.
Chandra was arrested on Jan. 20, 2020, and has since been in custody at the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside.
One of the teens’ mothers claims she does forgive Chandra for his actions.
“I do forgive him, because I have to forgive him, in order so that I can be forgiven,” Jacob’s mother Ramona Ivascu said. “I have to continue living life. I know that’s exactly what Jacob would tell me. If he could talk to me, I know exactly what he would say: ‘Mom, you have to forgive him. Because unforgiveness does not bring any closure.'”
“He does have to pay for the crime that he’s committed,” she said. “I wish I could ask this individual, if he could go back, would he do it the same way, does he regret what he did? Is he aware of the pain he’s caused?”
Daniel’s mother, Janet Hawkins, said, “It’s really been incredible just how it’s just gone all over the US, and how it’s impacted people, and we’ve even had people say, ‘This has really caused us to have good conversations with our kids and maybe even think twice, hugging our kids before they head out the door.'”
She noted, “There’s a peace knowing that the boys lived life here together on Earth, and they’re now living their life in heaven together.”
