Man sentenced for luring Florida brothers to rural Calif., killing them, and concealing their remains

BUTTE COUNTY, Calif. (TCN) -- A 25-year-old man will spend 30 years to life in state prison in connection with the deaths of two Florida brothers during a drug deal in rural California in 2020.

The Butte County District Attorney’s Office announced Austin Hogan’s sentencing guidelines on Aug. 7. He pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder in June 2023 and testified as a key witness in the trial of one of his co-defendants, 28-year-old Kyle Smith.

On Oct. 21, 2020, family members reported two brothers, 39-year-old Jerry Bonds and 33-year-old Randy Bonds, missing to the Butte County Sheriff’s Office in California. Relatives said the brothers flew from Florida to Los Angeles and drove to Butte County, where they lost contact with the victims.

Prosecutors said Hogan, Smith, and another co-defendant, 25-year-old Michael Griff, "lured" the two brothers to rural Butte County, California, to buy marijuana from them. The victims reportedly checked in to a local motel before their disappearance.

According to the district attorney’s office, investigators with the Reno Police Department received a tip from a man on Oct. 21, 2020, indicating that "he had just talked with three visitors who told him they had just killed two Black men in the Oroville area." Authorities determined Griff and Hogan fatally shot the victims before all three defendants "concealed the brothers’ bodies under vegetation in the area."

Following the shooting, Smith reportedly drove the victims’ rental car as Griff and Hogan followed in another vehicle to a casino in Reno, Nevada, where they were observed on surveillance footage in the early hours of Oct. 22, 2020.

The sheriff’s office later recovered the remains of Jerry Bonds and Randy Bonds in a wooded area.

On Oct. 22, 2020, deputies and detectives performed a traffic stop on Hogan and Smith near Oroville, California. Investigators also executed a search warrant at a home and issued an arrest warrant for Griff. All three defendants were booked into the Butte County Jail on two initial counts each of first-degree murder.

During an interview, Hogan reportedly told investigators that Smith "encouraged" him to shoot the brothers.

The victims’ family spoke at Hogan’s sentencing hearing and "described the pain they have had to endure due to the killings." Prosecutors said, "Randy and Jerry’s mother described how many of the Bonds’ children had special occasions that were missed by Jerry and Randy due to the defendant’s actions."

Griff previously pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder and was sentenced on June 13, 2023, to 50 years to life in state prison. Co-defendant Smith pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder and received his sentence on July 24 of more than 30 years to life in state prison.

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