SAN DIEGO — The man accused of killing a beloved donut shop owner four years ago was sentenced to several decades behind bars.
Family and loved ones of Taing say they can finally move on from the nightmare they’ve been living in for the past four years.
"It's been a long four years, but justice…finally gained some closure. Our family can put this behind us and move forward," said Andy Taing, the victim's son.
The suspect, Keon Wilson, pleaded guilty to killing Taing inside his Clairemont Mesa home in 2019. Taing died several days later from his injuries.
He owned Rose Donuts in Linda Vista for 25 years.
His wife said the longtime businessman was a loving husband, father, and grandfather.
“Why did he kill my husband," she told the court emotionally.
Wilson pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder and two additional counts of residential burglary. A judge sentenced him to 27 years and four months in prison.
Taing’s son thanked the defendant for owning up to what he did.
"Thank you for acknowledging what you did that day," he told the defendant.
The prosecutor in the case said Wilson has a criminal history, including two prior strikes for residential burglary in Poway and Carlsbad. Including two more outside of the county.
"The families suffered a substantial loss in this case," said Kristina Nikoletich, attorney.
Nikoletich says that Wilson was part of a sophisticated criminal organization that targeted victims who were owners of small businesses.
"They preyed upon the stereotype that they may not keep their money in a bank, that they may keep it at home in a safe. They would target small business owners and go in a very tight timeframe," she said.
The case went cold for two years; technology helped detectives track down Wilson.
"They had exhausted almost every investigatory outlet until they utilized the technology of a reverse location search. And through that, what’s known as Google geo fences, they uncovered two devices at one location tied to the burglary and just one device in or close to the Taing household. After subsequent warrants were executed on that device, it essentially unearthed a treasure trove of investigatory leads for law enforcement to follow up on, and they did that in this case; they worked tirelessly with investigators from the district attorney's office, and that's what uncovered the other residential burglaries and burglaries up and down the state of California," said Nikoletich.
The criminal organization is said to be based in Los Angeles. Prosecutors say evidence points out that Wilson did not act alone. No other arrests have been made in the case.
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