SAN FERNANDO : Man Is Sentenced in Killing of Guard

An Arleta man was sentenced Friday to 32 years to life in state prison for robbery and his role in the killing of a security guard at a San Fernando swap meet two years ago.

Richard Lewis Zorns, 24, was convicted of first-degree murder last month in San Fernando Superior Court for his part in the June 3, 1990, incident.

Zorns was sentenced to additional time in prison because a gun was used to kill Roland Teal, 61.

Contributing to the sentence also was the fact that the Zorns had prior criminal convictions, Deputy Dist. Atty. Craig R. Richman said.

According to court records, Zorns and Sergio Ayala, 19, and Ricardo Rolden, 21, robbed the swap meet manager as he was placing bags containing about $12,000 into his car.

Authorities said that as Zorns waited in a getaway car, Ayala and Rolden grabbed the money bags and began running away. Teal jumped into his van and chased down Ayala. As he struggled with Ayala, Rolden allegedly came up behind Teal and shot him.

Because Ayala was 17 at the time of the shooting, he was ordered on Wednesday to undergo a 90-day evaluation by the California Youth Authority, even though he was tried as an adult and convicted of first-degree murder.

Rolden is scheduled to appear at pretrial motions April 24.