A Sacramento judge Tuesday ordered that Aaron Norman Dunn be executed by lethal injection for his 2006 shotgun killing spree in which he murdered two men in Elk Grove who had just finished having dinner with their families.
"It is the judgment and sentence of this court that you, Aaron Norman Dunn, should be put to death within the walls of San Quentin in the manner prescribed by law upon the date to be fixed by this court in the warrant of execution," said Judge Michael W. Sweet.Sweet had earlier rejected a defense motion to exercise "independent mercy" and refrain from imposing the death penalty on Dunn (left, with attorney Amy Rogers).
The judge said the aggravating circumstances of Dunn's shotgun killings of the two men on a busy Elk Grove street were "so horrendous" that they outweighed the defendant's problematic upbringing by a drug-abusing father and an indifferent and uncaring mother.
Sweet then delayed the sentencing hearing for a half hour while he read the probation report on Dunn that had been filed under seal.
Dunn, 32, was convicted of murder April 13 by a jury that later decided he should be sentenced to death for killing Michael John Daly, 45, and Jon Johnson, 46, on March 25, 2006. The victims were leaving popular Laguna Boulevard restaurants after having dinner with their families when they were gunned down.
Defense attorneys argued during the trial that Dunn was distraught over the break-up of his marriage and was under the influence of methamphetamine at the time of the murders.