A 34-year-old Torrance man pleaded guilty Friday and was immediately sentenced to 16 years in prison for gunning down another man in the parking lot of a nightclub in Stanton.
Jose Luis Perezortiz Jr. pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter with a sentencing enhancement for the personal use of a gun. As part of the plea deal a charge of murder was dismissed.
Perezortiz has credit for 1,929 days behind bars since his arrest, more than 5 1/4 years.
Perezortiz killed 28-year-old David Hernandez of Anaheim during a conflict in the parking lot of the Mexico De Noche nightclub June 5, 2021, according to Orange County Sheriff’s deputies.
The shooting occurred between 2:20 a.m. and 2:30 a.m. at the parking lot of the nightclub at 10560 S. Magnolia Ave., near Cerritos Avenue, deputies said.
Hernandez was later found at a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead, deputies said.
Perezortiz’s wife got into a conflict with another woman in the nightclub, prompting bouncers to kick him out, his attorney Cameron Talley told City News Service.
As the bouncers were ejecting him they were making comments that indicated they were in a gang and were threatening the defendant, Talley said.
“My guy got out his gun because he thought they were going to shoot him,” Talley said.
After Pererzortiz got a weapon from his Jeep, shots rang out nearby, prompting the defendant to fire at the bouncers, but he missed and shot Hernandez, who was an innocent bystander, Talley said.
It was undetermined who was firing the guns nearby and why, Talley said.