Right to the end, Anurag Chandra refused to say the two words the families of his victims most wanted to hear: I’m sorry.

Chandra did not look at those who were making victim impact statements or address the court himself on Friday, July 14, before he was sentenced to life in state prison without the possibility of parole for murdering three teenagers and critically injuring three others in a traffic collision he caused after they had played ding-dong ditch at his Temescal Valley home.

Jacob Ivascu, 16, of Riverside and 16-year-old Corona residents Daniel Hawkins and Drake Ruiz died on Jan.19, 2020, when an enraged Anurag Chandra pursued their car on Temescal Canyon Road — at one point driving 99 mph — and slammed into the teens’ car, sending it careening into a tree, authorities said.

The driver of that car, Sergio Campusano, 18 at the time, Joshua Ivascu, 14, and Joshua Hawkins, 13, suffered broken bones and other injuries.

The boys were described as inseparable.

Chandra, 45, was convicted of three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of attempted murder on April 28.

On Friday in Superior Court in Riverside, he was sentenced to life terms for each of the murder counts. Those will be served at the same time, Judge Valerie Navarro ruled. He was also sentenced to seven years for each of the attempted murder counts.

Chandra, who testified in his defense with no other witnesses to counter the prosecution’s case, had bragged about the multi-million dollar deal he brokered with Disney for the Buena Park company where he worked and worried that a conviction would hurt his income. He said he wasn’t trying to kill anyone and crashed into the teens’ car when it braked suddenly.

“We have seen no remorse, no contrition from him,” Craig Hawkins, the father of Joshua and Daniel, told the judge. “The only thing that he seems to regret is the alleged money he thinks he would have made over the last three years or so while he has been in jail. Like money can compete with a life.

“The light never seemed to go on that he did something wrong. He needs to repent and acknowledge what he did,” Hawkins said.

Senior Deputy District Attorney Kevin Beecham told the judge that Chandra apologized during his pre-sentencing interview with the Probation Department but quickly added that the trial had been a financial hardship on his family.

“That’s as much of a backhanded apology as I’ve ever heard,” Beecham said.

On the night of the crash, the teens drove around the Hawkins’ neighborhood, looking for a home where they could pull the ring-the-doorbell-and-run prank.

Ivascu went up to the door at 10:15 p.m. on that Sunday, knocked, rang the doorbell and pulled down his pants to “moon” Chandra, who was watching through the blinds. As Chandra went out the front door, Ivascu ran to the car. Chandra testified that he thought the person at his door was a sex offender who had come to assault him, his wife and twin 16-year-old daughters.

Chandra drove after the teens hoping to “express my anger” but not harm them. The three surviving teens said that Chandra’s car hit theirs from behind a few times, sending it out of control. Chandra then slowly drove past the crash site and went home.

Chandra’s car lost a license plate in the collision, and the California Highway Patrol used that to find him. A passerby also followed a trail of car fluids to Chandra’s home. Chandra testified that when officers showed up outside his door at about 2 a.m., he had no idea why they were there.

Chandra’s testimony appeared to hurt his case rather than help it.

Sometimes, instead of giving short, safe answers to questions from Beecham, Chandra would add, “Mr. Beecham, let me explain …” giving Beecham new openings to question Chandra. At one point, Chandra’s own attorney, David Wohl, objected to his client’s testimony.

After convicting Chandra, the juror foreman said the panel did not believe much of his testimony and that he seemed worried only about what a conviction would mean to his income.

“It helped our case,” Joshua Hawkins, now 17 and a student at Centennial High in Corona, said outside court. “All three of my ‘brothers’ got the justice they deserved.”

Josh Ivascu is now 17 and a student at Woodcrest Christian in Riverside.

“It’s a great relief to know that justice has finally been served for my two best friends and we don’t have to worry about (Chandra) going out and hurting anybody anymore,” he said after the sentencing.

The families of the boys all have a deep Christian faith that they said has sustained them through their ordeal. But that faith was tested, they acknowledged in their victim impact statements.

“One man’s angry, ungodly decision changed our lives forever,” said Drake Ruiz’s mother, Debbie. “When I saw he had no remorse, it made it more difficult to forgive him.”

Daniel Hawkins’ sister, Sarah, said she can’t shake the memory of seeing the mangled car at the crash site.

“A big part of the Christian faith is forgiveness. But how do you forgive a person who killed our brother, who has not shown remorse?” she said.

Ramona Ivascu, the mother of Joshua and Jacob, described her late son as kind, thoughtful and funny.

Related Articles

• Crime and Public Safety |
  Details about accused Long Island killer Rex Heuermann emerge from his lawsuits against drivers
• Crime and Public Safety |
  Three Antioch shootings leave one dead, at least three wounded
• Crime and Public Safety |
  One man killed, another injured in Pittsburg shooting
• Crime and Public Safety |
  Woman gets 9 years for killing California bicyclist and fleeing
• Crime and Public Safety |
  Man in Sacramento standoff charged with San Jose homicide

“We know Jacob is in heaven forever with his best friends Drake and Jake,” she said.

While their faith has carried the family, she said, “How do we describe the pain of sitting at our dinner table the last two years looking at an empty chair? There are no words. We are broken.”

The six boys met in elementary school at Olive Branch Christian Academy in Corona and attended North Point Community Church in Corona. The tragedy and the shocking nature of the crime sent many in the Corona-area communities and the church into mourning and generated headlines across the country.

Thousands of people turned out for the vigils and funerals. Some people who didn’t know the families nevertheless sent cards, Craig Hawkins said.

“I think that struck a nerve with people,” he said outside court. “It galvanized our community. Part of it was the death of young people. (They said) it could have been our kids.”

Several family members said afterward that they were happy that the trial was over. But they acknowledged there is still healing to do.

“You don’t climb over dead brothers and friends (in the car) and don’t have that affect you for the rest of your life,” Craig Hawkins said.

Josh Hawkins said the deaths left him without a brother to bounce with on the backyard trampoline or play video games with at the same time that the COVID-19 pandemic limited his ability to visit with friends.

“I felt like I missed out on a lot of my childhood because my best friends and brother were taken from me,” he said after the sentencing.

Campusano, now 21 and studying Christian ministries at Azusa Pacific University, said that three years after the crash, there are still times when he plans to share things with three of his friends, momentarily forgetting that they are dead.

“Then you’d have to snap back into reality,” he said outside court. “One day we will be able to celebrate with them for eternity, which is the hope that we all have.”