A San Fernando Valley man pleaded no contest Thursday to first-degree murder for his sister-in-law’s shooting death in 2017.
Marcos Tulio Flores, now 41, was immediately sentenced to 25 years to life in state prison following his plea, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
The case stemmed from the Jan. 8, 2017, shooting of Sulma Flores, who died later that week.
Seven other charges against Flores –including evading a pursuing peace officer while driving recklessly, assault with a firearm, burglary and criminal threats — were dismissed as a result of his plea.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office alleged shortly after the case was filed that Flores had shot his sister-in-law and threatened his estranged wife and her family with a gun at their Van Nuys home, then led police on a televised late-evening chase the next day after officers began following his car that matched the description of the one connected to the shooting.
Flores was taken into custody on the southbound San Diego (405) Freeway in the Sepulveda Pass by SWAT officers who performed a PIT maneuver to stop the car, and beanbag rounds and a police dog to subdue him. He was subsequently taken to a hospital to be treated for a dog bite, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.