Life without parole in slaying of guitar maker

<p>Convicted murderer Joshua Begley maintained his innocence Tuesday as he was sentenced to life in prison without parole for the slaying of renowned Rohnert Park guitar maker Taku Sakashita.</p><p>The 29-year-old with a long criminal history refused to accept responsibility for the death of Sakashita, who was stabbed 11 times during a robbery at his workshop. He compared himself to a martyr wearing a “crown of thorns.”</p><p>“Today you will be sentencing the wrong person,” he said in a note read by his attorney, Chuck Ogulnik. “Whatever sentence you will impose will be transformed into a crown of thorns.”</p><p>Begley, who blurted obscenities at the Sept. 28 jury verdict, was otherwise subdued before a packed courtroom that included Sakashita's widow, Kazuko Sakashita, and dozens from the tight-knit community of luthiers. </p><p>He sat shackled to a wheelchair and appeared overcome with emotion before handing the note to his lawyer.</p><p>His statement followed a video presentation from friends and family of the victim that was set to acoustic guitar music from “The Wizard of Oz.”</p><p>Through a Japanese interpreter, the widow recalled for Judge Ken Gnoss her panic when her husband failed to return home from work. She drove to the shop and found a 15-foot-long blood smear on the floor. </p><p>She said she'll never stop thinking about the terror her husband must have felt as he was attacked by Begley, stabbed in the heart and then stomped on the face as he lay dying. She said she wakes at night and realizes he will never come home. The family has been forced to close the business her husband so loved, she said.</p><p>She asked that Begley be sent to prison for life.</p><p>“I believe I will experience this heartache for as long as I live,” said the widow, who was married to Sakashita for 16 years. The couple, both natives of Japan, had no children.</p><p>Gnoss accepted a Probation Department recommendation for life without parole for murder with special circumstances, plus six years for other convictions including evading police and having prior prison convictions.</p><p>He ordered Begley to pay $31,000 in restitution.</p><p>Begley's lawyer suggested a possible appeal. As Begley was rolled from the courtroom, family members said “Love you, Josh.”</p><p>He was convicted of killing Sakashita, 43, in the guitar maker's Martin Avenue workshop on Feb. 11. The victim owned Sakashita Guitars, which made instruments for such musicians as Robben Ford and Boz Scaggs.</p><p>Prosecutors said Begley spotted an open door at Sakashita's business just before 8:30 p.m. They believe he attacked the luthier as he talked on the phone to an associate in Japan.</p><p>The body was found the next day in bushes near the parking lot. His body was draped with a jacket that a witness said was similar to Begley's. In a pocket was a knife and glove that witnesses testified also resembled items Begley owned. </p><p>Also, detectives said the long blood smear on the shop floor had a boot print in it that matched the tread on a pair of boots found at the apartment of Begley's girlfriend.</p><p>DNA testing indicated Sakashita's blood was on the boots.</p><p>Begley testified in his own defense. He said he found the boots while Dumpster diving near the workshop. And he said he was at a friend's house the night of the killing.</p><p>A Probation Department report traced Begley's criminal history in Sonoma County to 1995 when he was sent to juvenile hall, in part for having a weapon on school grounds. A series of theft and drug convictions followed until 2000, when he was sentenced to three years in prison for a burglary conviction. In 2005, he was convicted of attempted car theft and sentenced to five years in prison.</p><p>A week before the murder, he used a handcuff key he kept in a pocket to escape from Petaluma police investigating another crime.</p>