A man convicted last month of gunning down another man outside a Midtown strip club in September 2006 will spend the rest of his life in prison.
Pima County Superior Court Judge Stephen Villarreal sentenced Vladimir Garcia Soza to a no-parole life sentence Tuesday morning in the death of Lee "Tweety" Linares.
Soza, 28, shot Linares, 37, to death outside the club on East Speedway near North Alvernon Way on behalf of Raúl Maldonado, a convicted murderer against whom Linares testified almost a decade ago, Deputy Pima County Attorney Mark Diebolt told jurors during his trial last month.
On Tuesday, Diebolt argued for the no-parole life sentence because Soza has two prior felony convictions, killed Linares while on parole and repeatedly got into trouble while in prison.
Soza has no remorse or conscience and will never follow the rules of a civilized society, Diebolt said.
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"Who will be next is the question I want to pose in a rhetorical fashion if we don't impose the maximum" sentence? Diebolt asked.
The judge could have given Soza a life sentence with parole possible after 25 years.
Dina Linares also asked the judge for the maximum sentence for her brother's killer.
"He not only killed my brother, but he killed a part of us as well. We are no longer complete as a family," Linares said.
Linares told Villarreal that after the verdict was announced Soza told her family, "You can't wipe the smile off my face," but she wants Soza to know "that he can't wipe the smile off our hearts because justice will be served today."
All gathered in Villarreal's courtroom Tuesday were friends or family members of Linares, many of whom wrote letters pleading for the no-parole life sentence.
Linares' mother, Sylvia Linares, told a pre-sentence- report writer that Linares felt bad for being involved in the murder a decade ago and testified against Maldonado to atone for his sins.
"He was sorry for what he did, and he promised to make up for it and never leave me again," Sylvia Linares told the report writer.
During last month's trial, Linares' girlfriend, Sara Guerra, testified that she, Linares and Matthew Cox were about to get into Linares' vehicle at the Bunny Ranch, 3650 E. Speedway, 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.
Diebolt hinged much of his case on an enhanced surveillance video showing people entering and leaving the club.
One man is seen entering 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 a rear door 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.
Cox and the employees said they assumed the man following Linares was Soza, based on the shirt. Guerra wasn't asked to identify that man.
Defense attorney Harold Higgins told jurors Diebolt's case was built entirely on assumptions. "The manager assumed the guy outside shooting had to have been inside, and it snowballed from there," Higgins said.
Everyone just assumed Soza was the shooter because he just happened to be wearing a white muscle shirt that night, Higgins said. Neither Cox nor Guerra was able to pick Soza out of a photo lineup, Higgins said.
Soza declined to speak on his own behalf during Tuesday's hearing. As he left the courtroom, he again turned to look at the Linares family and smirked.
"Who will be next is the question I want to pose in a rhetorical fashion if we don't impose the maximum (sentence)."
Mark Diebolt, deputy Pima County attorney
