LOS ANGELES, CA – A 36-year-old man convicted of murdering the mother of his child during a custody exchange outside a Hawthorne police station was sentenced Monday to life in prison without the possibility of parole, with an additional 29 years to life.
Jacob Ryan Munn, a Hawthorne resident with a prior felony record, was found guilty last month of first-degree murder and illegal firearm possession. Jurors also upheld the special circumstance of murder while lying in wait.
The victim, 28-year-old Brenda Renteria, was fatally shot on April 7, 2019, as she approached the police station’s entrance. Munn had just brought their 1 1/2-year-old child inside the station before carrying out the attack.
“An officer who was inside rushed out upon hearing gunfire,” a police official said at the time. Witnesses identified Munn as the shooter, prompting a pursuit.
The suspect fled the scene but was later tracked to a nearby restaurant parking lot, where law enforcement established a perimeter with assistance from SWAT teams and neighboring police departments. Munn was apprehended nearly three hours later.
The child, who was present during the exchange, was unharmed.
During sentencing, Renteria’s family described the profound and lasting trauma inflicted by her killing.
Her mother, Sandra Tanory, recounted witnessing her daughter’s death as “the worst day of my life,” adding that she is tormented by the memory. “The sound of those gunshots still echoes in my mind,” she said.
Renteria’s death left three children without their mother, a loss her eldest daughter said continues to haunt the family. “This is no man. This is a monster,” she said, addressing Munn.
The presiding judge acknowledged the family’s anguish but emphasized the limitations of the court in alleviating their pain. “A parent’s worst fear is outliving their child,” he said, calling the tragedy an unimaginable loss.
Munn, who showed no apparent remorse during the proceedings, will serve his life sentence without the possibility of parole.
