SONOMA COUNTY, Calif. (KRON) — A Philadelphia man was sentenced on Wednesday to life in prison without parole for multiple counts of murder, the Sonoma County District Attorney’s announced in a press release. Robert Lee Randolph, 36, was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted first-degree murder.
Randolph murdered two people, Jessie Mariana and Nathan Proto, and attempted to kill Geena Gauthier, who accompanied Mariana and was the only surviving victim, on Oct. 15, 2016. The shooting happened at Proto’s home off Highway 116 in Sebastopol where a marijuana deal turned into a shooting.
Authorities said Randolph knew Mariana after they’d partnered up in marijuana sales in the past, but their relationship “soured” over time. Randolph and his girlfriend traveled from Philadelphia to California that October to buy marijuana.
Randolph, his girlfriend, Mariana, Gauthier and Proto all met inside a garage-type structure in Proto’s home for the drug deal, according to the press release. Once the marijuana deal ended, Randolph then started firing his firearm, killing Mariana and Proto.
Despite being shot three times in the head and face, Gauthier survived and called 911.
Randolph and his girlfriend ran away from the scene at Proto’s home. They were on the run across multiple states for over two years before being arrested in Texas in December 2018.
“It will never not haunt me that I was made to witness such needless violence,” Gauthier wrote in her victim impact statement. “No one needs to die over cannabis. Ever. Every time I look in the mirror, I am humbled by the fact that despite my injuries I got to keep my life.”
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Randolph was sentenced to two life terms without parole for the first-degree premeditated murders of Mariana and Proto — including sentences for gun enhancements and great bodily injury. He was sentenced to another life term for attempting to kill Gauthier.
The total sentence is 82 years to life and two life terms without parole, according to the press release. Authorities said Randolph refused to come to court and had no comment.