Man convicted of violent L.B. rape gets maximum sentence

A month after a jury convicted him of dragging a woman onto the lawn of a Long Beach home and raping her for more than an hour three years ago, a judge’s ruling on Wednesday means that Alphonso Barnes will likely spend the rest of his life behind bars.

Barnes, 56, was convicted in August of first-degree rape, first-degree criminal sexual act and first-degree sexual abuse. Nassau County Court Judge Tammy Robbins sentenced him to two 25 years-to-life sentences and one 12 years-to-life sentence, all to run consecutively, due to his status as a persistent violent felony offender.

Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice said that at approximately 4:30 a.m. on Dec. 5, 2009, Long Beach police officers on patrol saw a woman with torn clothing running on East Broadway.

The woman, who was on the phone with a 911 operator, told the officers that she had been walking on Magnolia Boulevard when she was grabbed from behind, forced into the yard of a West Olive Street home, and forcibly raped for approximately an hour and a half.

During the attack, Rice said that Barnes strangled and threatened to kill the victim if she screamed, and tied her sweater around her face so she could not identify him.

DNA evidence collected at the scene led to Barnes, whose DNA sample was in a statewide database for previous convictions of criminally negligent homicide, attempted burglary, and robbery. Barnes, who was on lifetime parole and living in a shelter in Hempstead, was arrested by the Hempstead Police Department at the offices of the Nassau County Department of Social Services when he went to pick up a housing voucher.

“No amount of prison time can ever undo this vicious attack, but today’s sentence ensures that this dangerous predator will never walk the streets again,” Rice said in a statement. “The bravery and strength of the victim helped put Mr. Barnes behind bars, and I hope that she can find some solace in this sentence.”

Barnes’ attorney, Jeff Groder, told a daily newspaper that his client intends to appeal.