Jail for killing alleged burglar: A maintenance worker in San Jose, Calif., was sentenced to four years in jail for shooting and killing an alleged burglar while trying to make a citizen’s arrest during a burglary.
Luis Ricardo Hernandez, 26, pleaded guilty on involuntary manslaughter charges, authorities said on Wednesday, reported the San Francisco Chronicle. He was originally charged with killing 36-year-old Christopher Soriano at an apartment complex where he worked.
Prosecutors found that “the evidence shows the defendant never had the intent to kill the victim,” Santa Clara County deputy district attorney Matt Braker told the paper.
“The evidence shows that Mr. Soriano died because of the defendant’s extremely reckless and criminally negligent behavior,” he said.
Hernandez, who took “responsibility for his actions,” will be sentenced on June 17, Braker added.
His attorney, Nelson McElmurry, told KTVU television that Hernandez shot the man after police failed to respond to the burglary call, forcing him to attempt a citizen’s arrest.
“My understanding is that they are not responding to auto burglaries as a call for service,” he said in January. “These are people who feel they have to protect themselves.”
However, police offered a different view at the time, saying they never received a call about any auto burglaries at the apartment complex in 2012.
The incident took place after a rash of burglaries at the Summer Breeze apartments.
Prosecutors say Soriano was shot during a struggle when Hernandez and his supervisor tried to make a citizen’s arrest in the apartment’s underground parking lot.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
