Man sentenced to 75 years to life for drive-by-shooting murder of a Compton grandfather

A 21-year-old gang member was sentenced Sept. 16 to 75 years to life in prison for shooting an 84-year-old grandfather as he slept in the bedroom of his Compton home.

Brian Alonzo Sawyers, who is black, was found guilty June 19 of six felonies, including three counts of attempted murder, two counts of shooting at an inhabited dwelling and one count of murder, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office.

Prosecutors said that before the shooting, Sawyers, a documented Acacia Spooktown Farmdogs gang member, got into a fight with a rival gang member from Nutty Block.

A week later, on July 25, 2013, Sawyers was the back passenger in a dark-colored sedan and drove by Thomas Dunbar’s home in the 1000 block of Northwood Avenue in Compton. He shot at the home, targeting a rival gang member who was walking up to the door, said Sgt. Troy Ewing, who investigated the case for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

There were about six people inside the home at the time of the shooting, but the only person injured by the gunfire was Dunbar, who was sleeping in a hospital bed in the front bedroom. Dunbar had recently suffered a stroke and couldn’t walk, Ewing said.

At least 20 shell casings were found at the crime scene, Ewing said.  The intended target was a friend of Dunbar’s grandson; that person was uninjured in the shooting.

Soon after the shooting, Sawyers was arrested on suspicion of burglary. While in his jail cell, he talked about the shooting to undercover law enforcement.

Contact the Homicide Report. And follow @latimeshomicide on Twitter.