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Arizona man gets 3 life terms for killings

Posted at 6:36 AM, Mar 22, 2019
and last updated 2019-03-22 16:36:52-04

PHOENIX (AP) - A man convicted in the deaths seven years ago of a cigar salesman in Phoenix and a couple from an upscale suburb will spend the rest of his life in prison.

A judge on Friday handed down a life sentence for each victim for Michael Lee Crane as part of a plea deal in the January 2012 killings of Bruce Gaudet and Lawrence and Glenna Shapiro.

Prosecutors had originally sought the death penalty against Crane, who pleaded guilty to murder and other charges.

Several relatives of the victims also spoke, saying they would have preferred a death sentence.

Authorities say Crane bound and fatally shot the victims at their homes, stole their jewelry and other valuables and set their houses on fire.

The Shapiros were killed four days after Gaudet.