By Steve Gorman

LOS ANGELES (Reuters – The man who confessed to the murder of one worshipper, and to wounding three others during a shooting spree in a California synagogue just a month following setting fire to a nearby Mosque was sentenced Thursday to life without parole.

John T. Earnest (22 years old) pleaded guilty to one count of murder, three charges of attempted murder, and the charge of setting fire to a religious place in July. This was in an agreement with local prosecutors, which spared him from possible death.

In San Diego, the defendant was sentenced to life in prison for two weeks following his plea guilty to federal hate crimes charges.

When he is sentenced to a federal case at U.S. District Court Dec. 28, he will face an additional term of life.

Earnest fired an assault rifle on the Chabad of Poway synagogue in San Diego, on April 27, 2019. This was during Sabbath prayers for the final day of the Jewish Passover holiday. He was just 19 at that time.

Lori Gilbert-Kaye (60-year-old) was the victim of an attack that resulted in three other victims being wounded. The attack also left the Rabbi, who suffered a gunshot to the hand, and his index finger.

Ex-Army sergeant from the congregation chased the gunman out of the temple. He then drove away in a car and avoided an off-duty U.S Border Patrol agent, who fired at the escape vehicle, but failed to see the suspect.

Earnest then stopped in a mall to report the shooting to the emergency 911 line. Earnest waited until police arrived to take him into custody.

The authorities later identified Earnest, who was the author of an anti-Muslim, violently antisemitic and rambling manifesto posted under his username minutes before the shooting started.

The post stated that he was responsible for the predawn arson attack which damaged the Islamic Center of Escondido in a nearby community.

Earnest claimed in his letter that he had been inspired by the New Zealand gunman who murdered 50 Muslims at New Zealand’s mosques. He also made mention of the shooting at Pittsburgh Synagogue that killed 11 people the October before.

According to the Los Angeles City News Service, Peter Deddeh, a judge at the San Diego County Superior Court, denied Earnest a chance to address him, as it is usual before sentencing.

A number of Gilbert Kaye’s close friends spoke at the hearing. Hannah Kaye was one, and she called white supremacy, “an epidemic that thrives across this country, and internationally,” according to CNS.