A Victorville man has been convicted of orchestrating a decades-old murder-for-hire plot that left a Moorpark resident dead, the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office announced Monday.
A jury found Antoine Nehme, 73, guilty of murder, conspiracy and solicitation of murder in connection with the 2004 killing of Dennis Wood, which jurors found was committed for financial gain.
On April 16, 2004, Ventura County Sheriff’s deputies found Wood dead in his home with gunshot wounds to the head and chest.
The case remained unsolved until investigators uncovered that Wood, who owned a prepaid phone card business, had loaned Nehme $28,700. Rather than repay the debt, Nehme arranged for Wood’s murder, prosecutors said.
In 2010, a suspect in an unrelated Los Angeles case revealed that co-defendant Alex Bracamonte had killed Wood on Nehme’s orders. Bracamonte, who worked at Nehme’s Ojai gas station, later confessed in 2023 and provided details only the killer would know, officials said.
He pleaded guilty in May 2024 and testified against Nehme at trial, the D.A.’s Office said.
“The Ventura County Sheriff’s detectives who never gave up on this case,” said Senior Deputy District Attorney John Barrick. “Thanks to their tireless efforts … we secured the evidence needed to prove this case beyond a reasonable doubt. After two decades, they made justice possible for Dennis Wood’s family.”
In addition to the murder-for-hire plot, it was also determined that Nehme planned the crime in detail, used great violence and abused a position of trust in the crime.
Nehme remains in custody without bail and faces life without parole at his May 20 sentencing. Bracamonte is scheduled to be sentenced on April 30.
A Victorville man has been convicted of orchestrating a decades-old murder-for-hire plot that left a Moorpark resident dead, the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office announced Monday. A jury found Antoine Nehme, 73, guilty of murder, conspiracy and solicitation of murder in connection with the 2004 killing of Dennis Wood, which jurors found was committed for […]
Leave a Reply