The 21-year-old Tucson man who shot two shoppers at the Park Place mall last July was sentenced to 6 1/2 years in prison Monday morning.
Vicente Alcaraz was convicted of aggravated assault and endangerment last month in Pima County Superior Court.
Miguel Rodriguez told police Alcaraz pulled a handgun on him at Dillard's and demanded his jewelry, according to authorities.
Rodriguez said he tried to grab the gun and ended up getting shot in the foot during the ensuing struggle, court documents state.
Alcaraz was shot in the left hand, and Wendy Salazar was struck in the leg by bullet fragments.
A defense witness testified Alcaraz pulled his gun in self-defense after Alcaraz and Rodriguez accidentally bumped into each other and got into a verbal altercation.
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Deputy Pima County Attorney Mark Diebolt asked Judge Frank Dawley to give Alcaraz the maximum sentence possible because he fears Alcaraz will kill someone someday.
Alcaraz has a history of violence dating back to his mid-teens, Diebolt said.
Alcaraz had been released from prison just six months prior to the shooting after serving time on weapons misconduct and theft charges.
"The system should have seen the handwriting on the wall long ago," Diebolt said.
After his conviction last month, Diebolt said Alcaraz was taped chatting with a jail visitor. During that visit, Alcaraz said the shooting was no big deal because no one died.
"The defendant turned (the mall) into a war zone," Diebolt said. "There were .40-caliber bullets zinging everywhere."
Before the shooting, Salazar said, she was known for her stoic nature, but she is now on anti-anxiety medication. She has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, suffers from frequent sleeplessness and no longer feels safe in public, she said.
She still remembers in vivid detail crawling behind a counter, all of the blood and all of the chaos, Salazar said.
Defense attorney Gregory D'Antonio asked Dawley for leniency, arguing the incident was impulsive and immature, not premeditated.
The defense attorney also noted that a psychiatric evaluation done after Alcaraz was convicted revealed Alcaraz suffers from bipolar disorder and depression.
When given his chance to speak, Alcaraz told Salazar he wished he could take back what he did that day.
In addition to the prison sentence, Alcaraz was ordered to pay more than $3,000 in restitution.
"The system should have seen the handwriting on the wall long ago."
Mark Diebolt, deputy county attorney
