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Buford Furrow Apologizes, Gets Life

Buford Furrow, shortly after he was detained by the authorities. 1999 file photo.

Los Angeles — In a courtroom filled with sobbing victims, white supremacist Buford O. Furrow apologized and blamed mental illness for the 1999 shooting spree in which he killed postal worker Joseph Ileto and wounded five people.

“I want to try, although it is impossible, to convey my deep sorrow,” Furrow said Monday, reading a statement before he was sentenced. “I think about what happened every day and I will grieve for it every day for the rest of my life.”

U.S. District Judge Nora Manella imposed two life sentences without possibility of parole, plus 110 years in prison and payment of $690,294 in restitution.

“Your actions were a reminder that bigotry is alive,” the judge told him. “If you’ve sent a message, it is that even the most violent crimes can strengthen a community.”

On Aug. 10, 1999, Furrow stormed into the North Valley Jewish Community Center, which was packed with children attending day programs, and fired more than 70 bullets. Three boys, a teen-age girl and a woman were injured.

He then headed into the San Fernando Valley neighborhood and killed Filipino American Ileto, shooting him nine times.

Slain Filipino American Joseph Ileto’s mother, Lilian Santos Ileto, left, with his sister Deena, wiping tears from her eyes, and brother Ismael talk with reporters in front of the Los Angeles Federal Court Monday, March 26, after the killer, Buford O. Furrow, was sentenced to two life sentences plus 110 years in prison.

Furrow, of Olympia, Wash., had a history of involvement with anti-Semitic groups in the Pacific Northwest, among them the Aryan Nations. He also had a history of mental problems and had tried to get help without success, his lawyers said when they argued to spare his life.

The mother, brother and sisters of Ileto described the devastating loss of their loved one.

“Sometimes I hope this was just a nightmare and my son will come to the front door,” Lillian Santos Ileto said. “But I’m afraid it’s not so. I will never get over the loss of my son.”