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Crime & Safety

Beverly Hills Murder: Scott Joseph Barker Sentenced to Life in Prison

The murderer lay in wait, jurors find, a special-circumstance allegation that gets him an additional sentence of life without parole.

A 25-year-old man was sentenced today to life in prison without the possibility of parole for fatally stabbing a filmmaker's son in Beverly Hills.

Scott Joseph Barker was convicted in October of first-degree murder for the July 20, 2010, attack on Katsutoshi Tony Takazato—son of filmmaker Fuminori Hayashida—outside a home in the 1800 block of Carla Ridge in the Trousdale Estates area. Barker was dating the victim's ex-girlfriend, Chie Alexandra Coggins Johnson, prosecutors said.

Beverly Hills Superior Court Judge Elden Fox gave Barker an additional sentence of life without parole because jurors found true a special-circumstance allegation of lying in wait. Prosecutors opted earlier not to seek the death penalty.

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Johnson, who was initially charged along with Barker, pleaded no contest in February 2011 to assault with a deadly weapon and was sentenced to five years probation and a year already served in county jail.

The victim's father, who lives in Japan, did not attend Monday’s sentencing hearing, but he sent a letter that was read during the proceeding.

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The filmmaker produced several late-1990s films, including Lured Innocence and No Strings Attached.

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