Jacqueline Avant murder suspect served time for robbery, inflicting bodily injury before Beverly Hills slaying

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The man accused of killing Jacqueline Avant, wife of Grammy Award-winning music executive Clarence Avant, was paroled from a California prison in September after serving time for a robbery conviction and has been incarcerated for other offenses. 

Aariel Maynor, 29, of Los Angeles, is suspected in the shooting death of Avant, 81, at her Beverly Hills estate early Wednesday during an alleged burglary. He was arrested by Los Angeles police officers during a second burglary in which he accidentally shot himself in the foot, authorities said Thursday. 

At a news conference Thursday, Beverly Hills Police Chief Mark Stainbrook said Maynor was on parole at the time of the slaying and has an "extensive criminal history" before declining to elaborate. 

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Aariel Mayor, 29, was released on parole in September on convictions for robbery and grand theft. He is accused of killing Jacqueline Avant, wife of Grammy Award-winning music executive Clarence Avant, in the couple's Beverly Hills home this week.  (California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation )

Maynor was paroled from prison Sept. 1 after receiving a four-year prison sentence for second-degree robbery in November 2018, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation told Fox News. The sentence came with enhanced penalties because he had a prior felony conviction. 

"He was released to parole supervision on Sept. 1, 2021 after serving his full sentence as defined by law," a CDCR spokesman said. 

In 2013, he was sentenced to a five-year term for a separate second-degree robbery and inflicting great bodily injury. He received an extra 16 months for a grand theft conviction as well. 

He was released to parole supervision on March 16, 2018, but then "absconded" in July of that year. By August 2018, he was back on parole supervision, officials said. 

While on parole, he was registered as a transient, the CDCR said. 

In 2011, he was arrested in Santa Monica for an alleged misdemeanor offense of public intoxication. Other arrests include a robbery and burglary 2010, none of which prosecuted, according to Los Angeles County court records. 

Jacqueline Avant, left, and Clarence Avant appear at the 11th Annual AAFCA Awards in Los Angeles on Jan. 22, 2020. She was fatally shot early Wednesday in Beverly Hills, Calif. 

Investigators have not speculated on why Maynor allegedly shot Avant. They were contacted by the Los Angeles Police Department after the second burglary resembled the one that took place in Beverly Hills, officials said Thursday.

"Somewhere in the night we had an astute watch commander at Hollywood (Division) that started to put two-and-two together and reached out to Beverly Hills … and we started communicating, and there were some similarities," LAPD Deputy Chief Blake Chow said.  

Authorities recovered evidence related to the shooting of Avant, including an AR-15 rifle, police said. Clarence Avant and a private security guard were on the property at the time of the shooting but were not hurt. 

Beverly Hills Police Chief Mark G. Stainbrook, left, addresses the media during a news conference, Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021, in Beverly Hills, Calif. Jacqueline Avant, the wife of music legend Clarence Avant, was fatally shot in Beverly Hills early Wednesday. Second from left is Beverly Hills Mayor Robert Wunderlich. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

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Maynor was taken to a hospital after shooting himself in the foot and will be booked into the Los Angeles County jail once he is medically cleared by doctors. 

Jacqueline Avant was a philanthropist and 55-year resident of Beverly Hills, and her 90-year-old husband was the subject of the 2019 Netflix documentary "The Black Godfather." In October, Clarence Avant was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 

The couple was married 54 years.