A man already in prison for helping his sister in a killing, admitted to killing seven people during a bar robbery and three others in separate attacks. Johnnie Malarkey, 28, pleaded guilty to shooting seven people to death at a Fresno club in 1993 and to three other killings that year. In exchange for his plea, prosecutors agreed not to seek the death penalty. Malarkey's lawyer said his client proposed the plea bargain to try and put the killings behind him.
"Johnnie does have a conscience, despite the fact that he's admitted to 10 murders," attorney David Gottlieb said. "In meetings that I've had with him, he's cried. He does feel remorse."
Superior Court Judge Gene Gomes sentenced Malarkey to eight consecutive life terms with no possibility of parole, a 37-year term and a 40 years-to-life term. The sentences were added to a 25-year sentence he is serving for a series of 1993 shootings, including the slaying of a 70-year-old man. Police said his sister, Lanelle Malarkey Denn, shot the victim to loot his mobile home. She was sentenced to 34 years to life in prison.
Malarkey had been the leading suspect in the shooting deaths at Carrillo's Club, the worst mass murder in Fresno County. Two men entered the bar just after closing and opened fire. The second gunman is believed to have committed suicide last October.