Former convict from Lakeport pleads guilty in two slayings from 2014

A Lake County man with a violent criminal history will be sentenced to 50 years to life in prison for the grisly January 2014 deaths of two men over two days.

Conrad Joseph Velez, 43, of Lakeport, has pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder and is scheduled to be sentenced to two 25-years-to-life terms on Jan. 4, said Lake County District Attorney Don Anderson.

Anderson said there still is no explanation for the killing spree, which began with the death of William Frank Busch, 54, on Jan. 27, 2014.

Velez knew both victims, most likely from some type of drug-related dealings, Anderson said.

Busch’s body was discovered by firefighters responding to a burning home in Lakeport. Bush had suffered lethal skull fractures and multiple stab wounds, Anderson said. The next morning, the victim’s car was found burning in a field.

That afternoon, people near Lakeport reported seeing a man being thrown out of an SUV, struck by an object, then run over by the vehicle.

The victim, Harry Morgan, 46, of Kelseyville, died shortly after deputies arrived on the scene. Morgan had been stabbed multiple times by Velez before being shoved from the SUV and struck by the vehicle as it drove away, Anderson said.

He said it’s unclear whether Velez, who had a violent temper, simply became angry with Morgan, who was giving a ride to him and two other people - Velez’s girlfriend and his son - or whether the ride had turned into a carjacking.

It’s also not clear whether Morgan was run over on purpose, Anderson said. The driver of the vehicle was Velez’s son, Dakota Velez.

“We don’t think he intentionally ran him over,” Anderson said.

Dakota Velez, 21, and Conrad Velez’s girlfriend, Dahnna Phyllis Burrows, 26, both of Lakeport, initially also were accused of murder. But the charges were reduced.

Burrows has pleaded guilty to being an accessory to the murders, a charge that carries a maximum sentence of three years, Anderson said. She is expected to be sentenced next week to time served - nearly two years.

Dakota Velez also served nearly two years. Following his guilty plea to arson and assault with a deadly weapon, he will be sentenced in January to five years of probation, Anderson said. If he violates his probation, he’ll be sent to prison for up to six years, the district attorney said.

Dakota Velez had no prior criminal record and is believed to have been coerced to participate in the crimes, Anderson said.

“He was being threatened by his father that he was going to kill him. These were credible threats,” Anderson said. Conrad Velez had three prior strikes for violent crimes and had been released from prison just weeks before the 2014 homicides, he said. Details of his prior crimes were not available earlier this week.

Anderson said he does not know why Conrad Velez agreed to a plea that likely means he will spend the rest of his life in prison.

“I really don’t know, other than he’s going back to where he (apparently) wanted to be,” Anderson said.

You can reach Staff Writer Glenda Anderson at 462-6473 or glenda.anderson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @MendoReporter