A 37-year-old Tucson man who was unable to convince jurors he shot another man in self-defense was sentenced to 16 years in prison Friday for second-degree murder.
Sixteen years was the maximum sentence David Rene Garcia could have received, said Assistant Pima County Public Defender Anthony Payson.
On Dec. 4, 2004, Garcia and Alexis Samaniego were at a local bar when Garcia invited Samaniego and another man back to an apartment complex in the 5000 block of North First Avenue to drink beer and use drugs, authorities said.
Garcia and Samaniego began arguing about 4 a.m. Samaniego knocked over a tall hat rack made out of horseshoes, prosecutors said.
Garcia reportedly drew his weapon and pulled the trigger 11 times, hitting the 23-year-old Samaniego 10 times. Deputy Pima County Attorney Mark Diebolt told jurors the autopsy showed many of the shots were fired while Samaniego was on the ground and one of them severed his spine, rendering him helpless.
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Payson argued that Samaniego was in a drunken rage that night and that Garcia acted in self-defense. Pima County Superior Court Judge Christopher Browning sentenced Garcia.
Garcia will appeal his conviction, Payson said.
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