*NEWS RELEASE*
JUDGE HANDS DOWN DEATH SENTENCE FOR YONKO

FRENCH VALLEY - Today, Judge Judith Clark sentenced Tony Ricky Yonko, 47, to receive the death penalty for the brutal 2002 murder of Paul Ngo.

"This was a vicious and callous murder and a horrific crime that destroyed a family and left three young boys without a father," said Supervising Deputy District Attorney Steve Gallon. "This was the just and appropriate sentence for this crime."

On October 22, 2002, Yonko decided that his next burglary would be the Lake Elsinore residence of Paul Ngo, a father of three young boys ages 10, 9 and 7. Paul, 41 at the time, was home and interrupted Yonko's plan. That's when Yonko revealed a hammer and began to violently swing it at Paul. Yonko struck Paul's head 10-15 times with the hammer. Yonko burglarized the home and even stepped over Paul's bloodied and battered body as he removed property, including a safe, from the home. Paul's 7- and 9-year-old sons came home from school to discover their father's body where Yonko had left him.

In December 2007, Yonko was convicted of first-degree murder during a robbery and, in February 2008, the same jurors recommended that Yonko be put to death for Ngo's murder. On June 9, 2009, another jury found that Yonko was not mentally retarded; a claim made by the defense, and, by law, Yonko was then eligible for the death penalty.