Convicted Los Angeles killer sentenced to life in prison after third slaying while out on parole

A Los Angeles man was released from prison on parole in 2020 despite two convictions stemming from a pair of killings in the summer of 1995. 364 days after his release, according to prosecutors, he struck again by killing his girlfriend, a mother of six.

Now, Darryl Lamar Collins will spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole after he was sentenced on Friday morning by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Craig Veals.

"Darryl Collins took three innocent lives. Today's sentence isn't just about punishment, it's also about protection from this sociopath to ensure he will never walk free again," Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said. "This case shows exactly what can happen when someone with a history of extreme violence is released from prison early. We can only hope that three families who have experienced unimaginable loss find some measure of peace knowing he will never again be back in our communities." 

Collins, 55, was convicted in February of first-degree special circumstance murder in connection with the July 2, 2021, slaying of Fatima Johnson. According to the DA's office, Collins bound Johnson's wrists and ankles with shoelaces and duct tape and brutally suffocated her. He then stole several items, including jewelry and her Lexus car, and sold them for drugs.

Johnson had eight grandchildren and worked in a nursing home after becoming sober for the final eight years of her life. She was working on earning a nursing license at the time of her killing.

Collins was a free man at the time because of a 2017 amendment to the youthful offender parole law, according to the DA's office. The state legislature changed the cutoff for youthful offender parole from age 23 to 25, allowing him to be eligible for parole after 25 years of time served, despite a 50-year sentence.

"Had the state legislature not changed the law in 2017, almost 20 years after Collins' sentencing, raising the age cutoff from 23 to 25 for youthful offender parole, Collins would have been behind bars rather than on the street and able to senselessly and brutally take another innocent life," Hochman said.

His two murder convictions came as a result of two grisly slayings in 1995, when Collins was 24.

Collins carjacked a man using a payphone on Sept. 27, 1995. After taking control of the vehicle, Collins backed up and shot 28-year-old Derrick Reese at least twice, leaving him dead, according to prosecutors.

Just 11 days later, Collins held an Inglewood diner cashier at gunpoint and demanded money. The cashier, 44-year-old Thomas Weid, didn't comply, and Collins shot him in the face, killing him.

Both Reese and Weiss were strangers to Collins at the time of their deaths.

Collins was convicted on murder charges in both cases. He was sentenced to 50 years to life in 1998.

Now, he'll serve the rest of his life in prison, without the possibility of parole.

"Thanks to the work of Deputy District Attorneys Katrina Anderson and Noelle Brown and our Family Violence Division, Darryl Collins will spend the rest of his life in prison and our communities are safer for it," Hochman said.