ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY PRESS RELEASE
Case # 10CF2478
Date: June 5, 2015
SANTA ANA – A woman was sentenced today to life in state prison without the possibility of parole for the special circumstances murder of a man by driving over his head after following him home from a Hawaiian Gardens Casino to rob him of $10,000 in gambling winnings. Barbara Ann Hamel, 51, Long Beach, was found guilty by a jury March 30, 2015, of one felony count of special circumstances murder for committing a murder during a robbery, two felony counts of second degree robbery, and one felony count of attempted second degree robbery.
Hamel previously pleaded guilty in this case on Dec. 13, 2013, and was expected to be sentenced to 15 years to life in state prison on Feb. 21, 2014. During the sentencing the court allowed Hamel to withdraw her guilty plea based on the defendant’s request to have evidence in this case further analyzed. Continue reading