A jury found the defendant guilty of first-degree murder and burglary for a killing reported in Phoenix in December 2021.
PHOENIX — A man described by prosecutors as a documented member of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club was sentenced to life in prison Tuesday for a murder reported in Phoenix, officials said.
Keith McCollough, 53, was sentenced in Maricopa County Superior Court after a jury convicted him of first-degree murder and burglary.
In December 2021, McCollough and associates forcibly entered an apartment near 23rd Avenue and Rose Garden Lane and confronted the residence’s occupants, according to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office. The confrontation resulted in Richard Coss being fatally shot through his heart.
MCAO said DNA evidence linked McCollough to the scene and witnesses told investigators the incident was a retaliation attack “under the banner of the Hells Angels.”
At the end of McCollough’s trial, the jury notably found the defendant “not guilty” of two counts of participating in a criminal street gang. But the jury did find the murder and burglary offenses were done with the aggravating factor of being “committed with the intent to promote, further or assist a criminal street gang,” court records show.
“This sentence sends a clear message that organized criminal violence will be met with organized justice,” Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said in a statement. “I am proud of the prosecutors, detectives, and especially the witnesses who stood strong against a culture of fear and helped bring the truth to light.”
Two co-defendents, Jimmy Lee Eslinger and Carl Blazak, previously pleaded guilty to their roles in the incident. Eslinger was sentenced to 16 years in prison and Blazak was sentenced to about 10 years.
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