A felon was convicted on Wednesday of gunning down a reputed drug dealer in a Santa Ana bakery nearly four years ago, but a second man was acquitted of a murder charge.
Israel Pena Lopez, 38, of Santa Ana, was found guilty of first-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a felon, with a sentencing enhancement for personal discharge of a gun.
Lopez, who faces up to 75 years to life in prison, is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 10.
Frankie Esteban Giraldo, 32, of Santa Ana, was cleared of a first-degree murder charge stemming from the Oct. 13, 2010, shooting death of 32-year-old Alejandro Sanchez at the Panaderia La Chapina bakery at 2230 W. Edinger Ave.
Giraldo previously pleaded guilty to possession of ammunition, a charge related to his arrest in the current case. But with credit for time served behind bars, he was expected to be released from custody by day’s end.
Lopez fired six bullets at Sanchez as he poured himself a cup of coffee, according to Senior Deputy District Attorney Cynthia Herrera, who said the victim was shot from behind and “never saw it coming.”
She alleged that Giraldo, who lived a few doors away from the bakery, waited by a door to ensure the victim could not get away.
The prosecutor said Sanchez had 30 bindles of heroin on him and three disposable phones, indicating he was dealing drugs.
Lopez was arrested days after the killing on an unrelated case, and Giraldo was taken into custody in December 2010. Giraldo initially told police he was not at the bakery at the time of the shooting, then later said he was there to buy bread before he admitted he showed up to buy drugs, according to the prosecutor.
Giraldo’s attorney, Jaclin Awad, said her client had “a very bad drug habit for many years,” and was at the bakery to buy heroin that day.
“My client used to buy drugs from the victim,” Awad said. “Mr. Sanchez was a big-time drug dealer.”
Sanchez got too busy to do drug deals himself so introduced Giraldo to Lopez, who was supposed to be a middleman that Giraldo knew as “Marcos,” according to Awad.
Giraldo considered Sanchez a “good friend, a straight-up dude,” and would never kill him because the victim was the defendant’s “lifeline” to drugs, the defense attorney said.
Investigators do not know what exactly motivated the shooting, but Lopez and the victim were both drug dealers so it could have something to do with that, Herrera said.
Awad said the prosecution’s case against her client was “far-fetched.”
The defense attorney added, “It’s really nice when jurors take the time to make sure justice is served, and today there was justice in the courtroom today.”
Herrera said she “respectfully disagreed” with Awad’s assertion that the prosecution’s case was far-fetched, noting that there was evidence Giraldo and Lopez spoke on the phone the day of the shooting.
“I still believe there was sufficient evidence to find both defendants guilty, but we respect the jury’s decision,” Herrera said.
— City News Service