A 25-year-old Dublin woman was sentenced Friday, Aug. 14, to one year in Sonoma County jail in connection with the killing of Mark Calcagni, her former boss at San Francisco’s historic Condor Club.
Sonoma County Superior Court Judge Lynnette Brown sentenced Asia Lozano Morton to a two-year split term, with one year in jail followed by one year of mandatory supervision.
Brown denied Morton’s request for probation, citing concerns about her actions following Calcagni’s death and what the judge called an inadequate expression of remorse.
Calcagni, 60, was found dead in a bicycle lane near his Brookwood Avenue home in Santa Rosa about 6:30 a.m. Oct. 3, 2025. Police said he had been shot multiple times after returning home from work.
Morton’s boyfriend at the time, Richard Lund, 43, has been charged with murder and firearm-related offenses in connection with Calcagni’s death. He has pleaded not guilty, and his jury trial is scheduled to begin Aug. 28.
Prosecutors alleged Morton helped Lund after the killing, including by helping him secure two vehicles and communicating with him around the time of the shooting. She ultimately pleaded no contest to being an accessory after the fact, a charge separate from the murder case against Lund.
Investigators have said they believe the killing was planned and potentially connected to Calcagni’s decision to fire Lund and Morton from their jobs at the Condor Club after the two were allegedly dealing drugs. The club is a North Beach landmark widely credited as the nation’s first topless bar.
At Friday’s sentencing hearing, Morton’s attorney, Walter Rubenstein, asked Brown to sentence his client to electronic monitoring or work release rather than jail. Morton had been out of custody for about nine months wearing an electronic ankle monitor and had not violated its conditions.
Rubenstein argued an international vacation Morton took with her father shortly after the killing had been planned in advance and was not an attempt to flee. She was arrested Oct. 24 after she returned to the United States.
Rubenstein also said Morton’s limited expression of remorse was based on his legal advice because she could potentially face other charges related to Calcagni’s death.
Sonoma County prosecutor Christopher Brown argued probation was not appropriate despite Morton’s eligibility because she had no prior convictions.
The prosecutor also criticized a five-sentence remorse statement Morton wrote June 3, saying it was “indicative of Morton’s depraved indifference that permeates this case.”
The judge agreed.
“The letter really fails to take accountability at all and the letter is frankly inadequate with minimal remorse stated,” she said.
Morton’s lack of criminal history was a significant factor in the judge’s decision, as was her age. But the judge said Morton’s actions after Calcagni’s death were “incredibly concerning.”
Judge Brown acknowledged Calcagni’s family members, who appeared by Zoom for the hearing.
“There are no words the court could say to lessen your grief or restore what’s been taken from you,” she said.
Calcagni’s daughter, Cyre Calcagni Kay, said her father became a single father at 22 and cared for her and her siblings.
“I will never be able to call my dad for advice again,” she said in a statement read by victim advocate Alex Perry. “Every future celebration will carry the weight of his absence. We didn’t just lose a father, we lost our compass.”
Calcagni’s brother Craig said his brother’s death had devastated their family.
“My brother was taken from us violently and senselessly,” he said.
Keith Calcagni said the effects of his brother’s death would “stretch across generations.”
“Our family feels as if Asia is getting off easy,” he said.
Judge Brown said she understood the family’s desire for a harsher sentence but was limited by the crime to which Morton pleaded no contest.
She ultimately imposed the middle term of two years, with one year in jail and one year of mandatory supervision. Morton received no credit for time served because she had remained out of custody while wearing her electronic monitor.
She was also ordered to pay a $300 restitution fine, a $300 jail fine and two $40 court fees. She was ordered not to directly or indirectly contact Lund.
The sentence disappointed members of the Condor Club community, including a former employee who attended Friday’s hearing and knew Calcagni for about eight years.
The employee, who declined to be identified, said Calcagni was a father figure to many people who worked at the club.
“He was like everybody’s dad, honestly,” the employee said tearfully. “He was a boss, but everybody could expect a hug. Anything going on in your life, he’d take the time to talk to you on the side.”
The employee said Calcagni gave opportunities to people who might otherwise have been overlooked.
“He was always open to everyone, gave them opportunities, looked highly on everybody,” she said.
The employee said former and current Condor Club workers were disappointed by Morton’s sentence and believed she should have received a harsher punishment.
Rubenstein objected to written victim impact statements submitted by Condor Club employees, arguing they contained hearsay and references to crimes Morton had not been charged with. Brown did not allow those statements to be read aloud but entered them into the record, noting that some claims were inaccurate.
As deputies prepared to take Morton into custody, she was handcuffed and whispered, “I love you,” to family members who had come to support her.
Morton had silently cried as the Calcagni family’s statements were read. Before her sentence was read, she passed a bracelet to her mother to hold.
She was then taken into custody by Sonoma County sheriff’s deputies to begin serving her one-year jail sentence.
You can reach Staff Writer Isabel Beer at isabel.beer@pressdemocrat.com.