Timothy Joseph McGhee was a leader of the Toonerville gang, which is active in the Atwater Village area of northeast Los Angeles. In October 2007 a Los Angeles County jury found him guilty of three counts of first-degree murder and four counts of attempted murder arising from five incidents between October 1997 and November 2001. The three people named in the murder counts were Ronald Martin, Ryan Gonzalez and Margie Mendoza. A second penalty jury recommended death, and he was sentenced to death in 2009.
On April 3, 2025, the Supreme Court of California reversed the entire judgment in a unanimous opinion by Justice Goodwin Liu. The court held that the trial judge had wrongly removed a juror while the jury was deliberating on guilt. The case was sent back to the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Because the convictions were set aside, none stands against him at present, and a retrial is possible. His age was given as 51 at the time of the ruling.
The first count concerned Ronald Martin, who died in Los Angeles on October 14, 1997. The court's opinion places the killing about four days after a separate incident that month, for which McGhee was charged with two counts of attempted murder. The jury acquitted him of those two counts.
The second count concerned Ryan Gonzalez, who was 16. He died in Los Angeles on June 3, 2000. A Los Angeles warrant for McGhee's arrest on a murder charge was issued that month. In July 2000, two Los Angeles police officers were also the subject of attempted murder counts on which he was later convicted; no one was killed in that incident.
The third count concerned Margie Mendoza, 25, who died in Atwater Village on November 9, 2001. Another person was injured in the same incident. In August 2002 the Los Angeles Police Department announced a reward of $5,000, approved by the City Council, for information leading to McGhee's arrest. At the time he was wanted in connection with the November 2001 killing and for questioning about a separate triple killing in Atwater in August 2001, for which he was not convicted.
McGhee was named to the U.S. Marshals Service "15 Most Wanted Fugitive List" in early 2003. The federal charge was unlawful flight to avoid prosecution, and the underlying state charge was murder. The Marshals Service, the Los Angeles Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and the Bullhead City Police Department took part in the operation. He was arrested on February 12, 2003, in Bullhead City, Arizona. He was 29. Investigators said he had continued to direct gang activity while a fugitive. His arraignment in Arizona was to precede extradition to California.
The case was tried in the Los Angeles County Superior Court before Judge Robert J. Perry, case number BA244114. He was charged with three counts of first-degree murder and four counts of attempted murder, and two further attempted murder counts on which he was acquitted. The prosecution's guilt-phase case relied on gang members, informants and eyewitnesses, many of whom had criminal records or had received benefits for cooperating.
In October 2007 the jury convicted him of the three murders and of four of the six attempted murder counts. It found true the special circumstance of multiple murders, under Penal Code section 190.2, subdivision (a)(3), and, for two of the murders, the special circumstance that they were committed for the benefit of a criminal street gang, under subdivision (a)(22), together with associated gang enhancements.
The first penalty jury divided 10 to 2 in favor of death and was discharged without a verdict. A second penalty jury recommended death, and the judge imposed that sentence in 2009. McGhee was also convicted separately of taking part in a January 2005 riot at the Men's Central Jail.
Because a death sentence is reviewed automatically, the case went directly to the Supreme Court of California (case S169750). The decisive issue arose during guilt-phase deliberations. Two jurors sent the judge a note about a colleague, Juror No. 5, saying he relied on speculation and believed prosecution witnesses were lying. The judge questioned jurors individually, and after hearing views that Juror No. 5 was biased against police and the prosecution he removed him over the defense's objection. An alternate took his place, and the jury returned its verdicts a few days later.
The Supreme Court found that neither stated ground for removal, failure to deliberate or bias, was supported by the record. It said that a juror may not be discharged merely for disagreeing with other jurors or for doubting prosecution witnesses, many of whom were gang members or people with criminal records. It added that the trial judge should have reminded the jury of its duty to deliberate instead of questioning jurors one by one. The court wrote that "the trial court erred in removing Juror No. 5 from the jury during guilt phase deliberations", and it reversed the judgment in its entirety.
The court did not decide McGhee's other claims, including one under the California Racial Justice Act of 2020. It said he could raise that claim if the prosecution retries him and again seeks the death penalty.
Under California law a death judgment is appealed automatically to the Supreme Court of California, without any filing by the defendant. In this case the review lasted sixteen years from sentencing. When the court reverses a judgment on a ground that affects the guilt verdicts, as it did here, the prosecution may retry the defendant on the original charges, and the earlier verdicts and sentence do not stand.
The Los Angeles Police Department linked McGhee in 2002 to an August 2001 triple killing in Atwater and said that he was suspected in further killings; a figure of as many as a dozen was given in 2003. No conviction for any of these has been reported. The trial judge also found that the evidence showed McGhee's involvement in a further killing in November 2001 for which he was not charged. All of these remain allegations. The court's reversal means that the three murder convictions are also not in force pending any retrial.
October 14, 1997: Ronald Martin dies in Los Angeles; the first murder count.
June 3, 2000: Ryan Gonzalez, 16, dies in Los Angeles; a warrant for McGhee is issued that month.
July 4, 2000: incident that led to attempted murder counts involving two police officers.
August 2001: triple killing in Atwater for which McGhee was sought for questioning; no conviction.
November 9, 2001: Margie Mendoza, 25, dies in Atwater Village.
August 2002: Los Angeles police announce a $5,000 reward.
February 12, 2003: McGhee is arrested in Bullhead City, Arizona.
January 2005: riot at the Men's Central Jail; he is later convicted of taking part.
October 2007: jury convicts him of three murders and four attempted murders.
2009: death sentence imposed.
April 3, 2025: Supreme Court of California reverses the judgment and remands.