A Canyon Country man was sentenced Monday to 15 years to life in state prison for fatally shooting his father two years ago.
Juan Alexander Mejia, 32, pleaded no contest April 14 to second-degree murder.
Mejia came home drunk, kicked the garage door open and shot his father once in the head on May 16, 2013, according to Deputy District Attorney Nathan Bartos.
The 53-year-old victim, also named Juan Mejia, slept inside the garage with the door locked because of previous violent outbursts by his son, according to court testimony.
The defendant admitted pointing the gun at his father, but claimed to have accidentally fired. He fled the scene after the shooting and buried the weapon in a riverbed, Bartos said.
He was arrested two days later by Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies and has remained in jail since then.