Three sentenced in shooting death of TV actor Merlin Santana

Jet, May 10, 2004

A young California girl, whose false accusations of rape prompted two men to murder TV actor Merlin Santana, has been sentenced to eight years in juvenile prison.

Superior Court Judge Larry P. Fidler sentenced Monique King, who was 15 when Santana was killed, to a California Youth Authority prison until she turns 25. King was convicted of second-degree murder and attempted murder. King, 17, had been tried as an adult.

"Justice will be served," the judge said. But he added the sentence will "bring the family of Mr. Santana no comfort."

Santana, of North Hollywood, was 26 when he was shot in the head on Nov. 9, 2002, in the passenger seat of a car in the Crenshaw district of Los Angeles (JET, Nov. 25, 2002).

New York-born Santana had a frequent role as Romeo Santana on "The Steve Harvey Show" and appeared on other television shows, including "Major Dad," "Moesha" and "Sister, Sister." He also played Stanley, who had a crush on Rudy Huxtable on the hit "The Cosby Show."

Earlier this year one of the gunmen, Damien Andre Gates, 21, was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences plus 70 years after he was convicted of first-degree murder and attempted murder.

The other gunman, Brandon Douglas Bynes, 25, was sentenced to 23 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and assault with a deadly weapon.

According to court records, King told the two men Santana had made "some sort of physical advance on her." Her accusation angered Gates, who used a rifle to shoot Santana while Bynes fired a handgun. She later recanted her statement, but Santana had already been killed.

"It's clear that Miss King's lies started the ultimate result in this case," the judge said.

Cruzcina Santana, his mother, attended the sentencing and sobbed while talking about the murder of her son. "As time goes by, it hurts more and more," she told the judge. "To go on with my life, I have to learn to live without my son."