A Tucson man was convicted Wednesday in what a prosecutor described as a revenge-motivated slaying.
Vladimir Garcia Soza, 28, is facing a life sentence with or without the possibility of parole after being convicted of first-degree murder in the September 2006 death of Lee “Tweety” Linares, 37.
Deputy Pima County Attorney Mark Diebolt told jurors Soza shot Linares to death outside the Bunny Ranch strip club on behalf of Raúl Maldonado, a convicted murderer whom Linares testified against almost a decade ago.
Linares’ girlfriend, Sara Guerra, testified that she, Linares and Matthew Cox were about to get into Linares’ vehicle when Linares was shot.
"Someone walked up behind us and said, 'Hey, Tweet,' and then he shot him and said, 'This is from Raúl,' " Guerra said.
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Diebolt hinged much of his case on an enhanced surveillance video showing people coming into and leaving the club.
One man on the video is seen coming into and leaving the front of the club repeatedly wearing a white “muscle” shirt.
A man wearing an identical shirt is seen from behind as he follows Linares out to his car, shoots him and flees.
Guerra, Cox and two Bunny Ranch employees all identified Soza as the man seen at the front entrance.
Defense attorney Harold Higgins argued during closing arguments Tuesday that Diebolt’s case is built entirely on assumptions.
“The manager assumed the guy outside shooting had to have been inside and it snow-balled from there,” Higgins said.
Everyone just assumed Sosa was the shooter because he just happened to be wearing a white muscle shirt that night, Higgins said.
Neither Cox nor Guerra were able to pick Sosa out of a photo lineup, Higgins reminded the jurors.
While Cox did identify Sosa from a photo found on a friend’s MySpace account, Higgins said Sosa was the only one in the picture with tattoos and the killer had tattoos.
Guerra testified the trip to the Bunny Ranch that night was a last minute decision, so how could Soza have known Linares was going to be there? Higgins asked.
If Maldonado wanted Sosa to kill Linares so badly, why didn’t Sosa seek out Linares? Higgins asked.
Pima County Superior Court Judge Stephen Villarreal is presiding over the case.
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