CONVICTION IN TATTOO SLAYING UPHELD LAKE LOS ANGELES MAN RECEIVED 119 YEARS TO LIFE IN SHOOTING.

Byline: KAREN MAESHIRO Staff Writer

LANCASTER -- An appeals court has upheld the murder conviction of a Lake Los Angeles man who was sentenced to 119 years to life in prison for fatally shooting a man at a Lancaster mobile-home park over what prosecutors said were remarks about the killer's gang tattoos.

The Second District Court of Appeal ruled against Ricky Hammontree, saying the trial judge did not improperly admit gang evidence that was prejudicial against Hammontree or err in ordering him chained to his chair with a hidden belt during the trial.

``Much of the gang evidence ... would have been admissible regarding appellant's motive in killing (the victim), even if there had been no gang allegation,'' the ruling said.

Hammontree was convicted two years ago of second-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a felon in the September 2003 slaying of 31-year-old Cody Francois, a neighbor of Hammontree's sister at the Chaparral Mobile Home Park in the 1500 block of East Avenue I.

Hammontree testified that Francois tried to commit suicide with Hammontree's shotgun. Hammontree said the gun fired as he tried to wrestle it away from Francois, the ruling said.

Prosecutors said Hammontree's account was contradicted by other evidence, including a coroner testimony that the gun barrel was pressed into the victim's skin when it fired. The neck wound indicated an ``execution-style'' killing and was in retaliation for Francois ``disrespecting'' Hammontree's tattoos, prosecutors said.

Hammontree, who is white, has numerous tattoos -- many of which involve Spanish words -- on his arms, chest, and neck. Some include the initials for a Latino gang from Pacoima, the ruling said.

On the night before he was killed, Francois -- who appeared to be drunk -- questioned Hammontree about his tattoos in a repetitive and offensive manner and asked why a white person would have them, the ruling said.

The following morning Francois, still drunk, went to Hammontree's sister's mobile home to borrow a videotape. The sister testified that she heard Francois trying to wake Hammontree and then a loud sound, the ruling said.

When she entered the living room, the sister said she saw Francois lying on the floor and Hammontree with a ``crazed'' look on his face and holding a shotgun. When she asked Hammontree what had happened, he answered, `He pissed me off.'''

Prior to the start of trial, the prosecutor told the court that Hammontree had attacked a fellow inmate in a courthouse cell and asked that he be restrained during trial.

The judge ordered that Hammontree be restrained by a ``stealth belt'' that secured him to his chair and was not visible to the jury.

``In our view, the evidence concerning the attack, coupled with appellant's criminal record, adequately established `a threat of violence or other nonconforming conduct' at trial,'' the ruling said.