MURRIETA, Calif. — A convicted felon who joined a violent robbery that left a security watchman dead at an illegal marijuana grow in Anza has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Brandon Noll Pollard, 33, of Escondido, was convicted in September of first-degree murder, two counts of kidnapping to commit robbery, and related firearm enhancements in the 2019 killing of Khamsene Singnolay, 47. A special-circumstance allegation that the murder occurred during a robbery made the life-without-parole sentence mandatory under California law.
The sentence was imposed Friday by Riverside County Superior Court Judge Timothy Freer at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta.
Pollard’s co-defendant, Maxwell Hakole Reynolds, also 33, of Anza, was convicted separately and sentenced last month to 44 years to life for his role in the crime.
Deadly Robbery at Illegal Marijuana Grow
According to court documents, Pollard and Reynolds conspired on June 4, 2019, to rob an illegal cannabis farm on Bautista Canyon and Trip Flats roads. The pair ambushed workers arriving at the site, beating and binding two victims before storming the property.
When Singnolay, the site’s watchman, investigated, Pollard emerged from hiding and shot him with a shotgun, killing him instantly. Reynolds was struck in the leg by part of the blast. The two then fled in a stolen vehicle before escaping in Pollard’s pickup truck.
The surviving victims managed to free themselves and sought help from a nearby fire station, but Singnolay was pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigation and Arrests
Detectives with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Central Homicide Unit identified the suspects using surveillance footage and vehicle evidence. Reynolds was arrested at a Moreno Valley hospital, where he sought treatment for his gunshot wound, and Pollard was taken into custody the next day.
Both men had prior felony convictions, though court records did not specify the charges.
Prosecutors described the case as “a brutal and calculated robbery” that ended in the “senseless killing of a man protecting his livelihood.”
Pollard is now serving a life-without-parole sentence in the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
