Marina man denied request to reverse life without parole sentence

Friday, a Monterey County Superior Court judge denied the request to recall the life without the possibility of parole sentence for a Marina man.

Norman Willover is now 34-years-old and was the first defendant in Monterey County to request the recall of his life without the possibility of parole sentences under a law enacted in 2012. That law allows a defendant who was under 18 at the time they committed murder to ask a judge to reverse a life without parole sentence.

This case stems from a crime spree in January 1998. Willover was almost 18 when he escaped from a residential treatment center in Utah, bought a gun from another teenager and told people he intended to return to California to kill people in rival gangs.

Once got back to Monterey County, Willover and three others drove to the Monterey Wharf to rob people. Investigators say while in a car, Willover yelled at two women who were drinking coffee and talking. Willover asked the two women for money, when the women did not respond, Willover fired nine shots at the two women.

Police say four bullets struck one woman and she died at the scene. The other woman was shot in the brain and arm but managed to survive.

After leaving the wharf, investigators say Willover gave the gun to Joseph Manibusan because Manibusan said “he wanted his turn.”

In Seaside, the two went up to a woman and Willover asked Manibusan if he was going to rob the female. Instead of robbing the woman, Manibusan shot six times at the woman and she died.

Willover was sentenced to two consecutive terms of life without the possibility of parole for the two murders. He received a consecutive sentence of life with the possibility of parole, consecutive to 25 years to life in prison for the attempted murder conviction for shooting the woman who survived.

Manibusan was convicted in a separate trial and was sentenced to a judgment of death. His conviction and death sentence were affirmed by the California Supreme Court on December 2, 2013.

The District Attorney’s Office said Carrie Panetta found the murders involved great violence and were particularly viscous, cruel and callous. Panetta agreed with the California Supreme Court’s assessment that the two murders were committed by a shared desire by Willover and Manibusan to shoot someone simply for sadistic pleasure, according to the DA’s Office.

Willover will be eligible in 2019 to file a new petition seeking the recall of his life without the possibility of parole sentences for the two murder convictions.