Second conspirator convicted in killing at Anza marijuana grow

MURRIETA, Calif. (KESQ) - A felon who joined a cohort in a fatal robbery at a 460-acre illegal marijuana grow in Anza was awaiting sentencing today after being convicted of first-degree and other offenses which carry a mandatory life sentence.

Brandon Noll Pollard, 33, of Escondido killed Khamsene Singnolay in 2019.    After two days of deliberations, a Murrieta jury on Tuesday afternoon found Pollard guilty of the murder count, as well as two counts of kidnapping to commit robbery, a special circumstance allegation of killing in the course of a robbery and a sentence-enhancing gun use allegation. Jurors deadlocked on a special circumstance of lying in wait.  

Pollard is facing a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. Riverside County Superior Court Judge Timothy Freer did not immediately set a sentencing date. The defendant is being held without bail at the Byrd Detention Center.

His co-defendant, 33-year-old Maxwell Hakole Reynolds of Anza, was found guilty by a separate jury at the Southwest Justice Center Thursday of first-degree murder, two counts of kidnapping to commitrobbery, special circumstance allegations of lying in wait and killing in the course of a robbery, as well as a sentence-enhancing gun use allegation.   

Reynolds is also being held without bail at the Murrieta jail.    According to a trial brief filed by the District Attorney's Office, on the night of June 4, 2019, Maxwell and Pollard conspired to perpetrate a robbery at the illegal cannabis grow operated by Singnolay and his friends, identified in court documents as "K.I.," "B.K." and "A.T.," in the area of Bautista Canyon and Trip Flats roads.

Pollard parked his pickup truck a short distance from the front gate of the grow, where he and Reynolds waited to see who might come and go, prosecutors said.

The first to arrive and enter was K.I., who was ambushed by the pair as he unlocked the gate.

"The defendants rushed him and struck him in the face with a shotgun, knocking out several of his front teeth,'' the brief stated. "They bound his hands, feet and face, and he was forced into the rear of his own Honda Odyssey."

Moments later, A.T. arrived in his car, and the ``defendants rushed him and struck him in the back of the head,'' according to court papers.   

He was also bound, gagged and shoved in the rear of the Honda with K.I., where the defendants fleeced him of all his personal belongings.   

The brief said the defendants drove onto the property in the Honda, parking near single-wide mobile homes where the occupants resided. Pollard and Reynolds proceeded to hide -- Reynolds crouching close to the Honda and his co-defendant concealing himself in bushes nearby -- court papers said.  

Singnolay came out and noticed the Honda but didn't see his friends, prompting him to walk over and look inside the vehicle, at which point he spotted K.I. and A.T. tied up.

Before the victim could react, Pollard jumped out of the bushes with the shotgun, allegedly blasting Singnolay, with Reynolds catching part of the discharge in one of his legs, according to the brief.

The defendants then got back into the Honda and headed for the front gate, parking the vehicle a short distance away and making their way to Pollard's pickup, which they used to escape, prosecutors said.

K.I. and A.T. aided one another in freeing themselves, after which they drove back onto the property and discovered Singnolay mortally wounded. With the help of the victim's girlfriend, B.K., they drove to county fire Station No. 29 at 56560 Highway 371, where firefighters vainly attempted life- saving measures. The victim was pronounced dead by paramedics.   

Sheriff's Central Homicide Unit detectives immediately began gathering information from the victims and collecting evidence at the scene and elsewhere that confirmed the vehicle used in the deadly robbery.

According to court papers, after Reynolds was taken to Riverside University Medical Center in Moreno Valley for treatment of his leg wound, investigators were able to reconstruct the chain of events, questioning him and his girlfriend at the hospital. Arrest warrants were obtained for both defendants.  

Reynolds was arrested on June 7, 2019, and Pollard was arrested the following day. Reynolds' girlfriend was not implicated.   

Court records show both men served time in state prison, but their priors weren't listed.