Jesus Garcia-Pena had a good job, family, friends and a future.
Then one night he got drunk, got angry and picked up a handgun.
A Snohomish County judge on Friday sentenced the Duvall man to 231/2 years in prison for an August 2003 shooting spree at a Monroe tavern. He ended one man’s life, put a bullet into another’s hip and left witnesses still trembling with fear.
Garcia-Pena, 31, a Mexican national, came here with little education but learned enough English to rise from a laborer to supervisor of a construction crew.
Garcia-Pena was bringing in enough money to start a family and share his good fortune with relatives, Superior Court Judge Gerald Knight was told. Now he is heading to a prison cell.
“He was living, probably, an American dream. And for all of us, it is a tragedy,” said Benito Cervantes, an investigator who assisted public defenders with the case.
Garcia-Pena in September pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for the Aug. 31, 2003, killing of Jesus Garcia Ochoa. He also pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree assault. The assault charges were for wounding the other man and menacing others in the Mi Barra tavern.
Deputy prosecutor Tobin Darrow asked Knight to impose 27 years, the maximum punishment under state sentencing guidelines.
He said Garcia-Pena was obsessed with his reputation as someone not to be crossed. The defendant was drunk and reacted like a “powder keg” when Ochoa made disrespectful comments, Darrow said.
Defense attorney Anna Goykhman said there was evidence that her client wasn’t solely responsible for the trouble that night. There had been threats and other problems in the past.
Garcia-Pena earlier entered Alford pleas to each of the charges, meaning he didn’t officially acknowledge responsibility but conceded a jury likely would find him guilty.
That didn’t mean he lacked remorse over what happened, only that he couldn’t admit “he acted in cold blood to kill a man and to cause all this pain,” Goykhman said.
The courtroom was packed with friends and family of the defendant and victims. The sentencing lasted nearly two hours because so many of those who spoke to the judge required the assistance of interpreters.
Ochoa’s brother urged Knight to send Garcia-Pena to prison for as long as possible. The defendant’s family and friends said he wasn’t a violent sort and asked for the minimum punishment, just under 19 years.
Communicating through an interpreter, Garcia-Pena apologized to his victims and said he hoped that some would draw solace from the time he’ll be locked away.
Knight said the case highlighted the danger of mixing booze, weapons and aggression.
“All such a waste for such a stupid night for no good reason,” the judge said.
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