Man sentenced 21 years in Long Beach shooting that killed musician Toko Tasi
LONG BEACH, Calif. (CNS) - A man was sentenced Friday to 21 years in state prison for the shooting death in Long Beach of a reggae and hip-hop artist who had worked with the bands Sublime and Slightly Stoopid.
Thomas Neri Arellaga Jr., now 47, of Long Beach, pleaded no contest Sept. 11 to voluntary manslaughter and admitted a gun allegation in connection with the Aug. 10, 2019, killing of Tasi Malaki, who performed under the stage name "Toko Tasi."
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Laura Laesecke noted that Arellaga had waived credit for all of the time he had served since he was taken into custody in August 2019 up through the time of his plea last month.
The judge -- who reviewed written victim impact statements before imposing the sentence -- called it a "certainly devastating loss" and said she could "feel the pain" expressed in those letters.
Malaki, 45, was shot twice in the upper body outside a bar near West Willow Street and Eucalyptus Avenue and died at the scene.
A post on his official Facebook page said Malaki was "taken away from this Earth by senseless violence." His most recent album, "Rise ta Shine," was released in 2017.
Authorities believe Arellaga and Malaki -- who were apparently childhood acquaintances -- were involved in a pair of confrontations within a half-hour, but it was not clear what the nature of the dispute was, according to Deputy District Attorney Kenneth Chiu.
Arellaga was arrested less than a week later by homicide detectives at a residence in the San Bernardino County community of Hesperia.
A murder charge against him was dismissed as a result of his plea.
Co-defendant Lorna Santos Clemena, 47, pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor count of being an accessory. The judge gave Clemena credit for time she had already spent on electronic monitoring.