An unrepentant Tucson man was sentenced to life in prison Friday for his second murder in six years.
David Armando Gomez, 25, will be become eligible for release after serving 25 years in the Arizona Department of Corrections.
"It was flight or fight, you know what I mean? I took fight," Gomez told Pima County Superior Court Judge Howard Hantman.
Richard "Gordo" Rios, 21, was shot and killed outside the El Dorado Bar, 1749 S. Fourth Ave., on Sept. 9, 2011, after confronting one of Gomez's friends.
In the weeks before Rios died, he was pushed into a pool at the home of Bobby Gonzales and not permitted into a party at the same home several days later, according to court testimony.
On Sept. 9, 2011, Rios confronted Gonzales outside the bar, demanding to know the whereabouts of one of Gonzalez's friends - the pal who wouldn't allow Rios into the party.
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Rios shot Gonzales in the abdomen, and, seconds later, Gomez shot Rios in the head. After Rios fell face-up on the sidewalk, Gomez took Rios' gun, placed it under Rios' chin and shot him twice more.
Gomez was arrested about three weeks later after a six-hour standoff that ended when SWAT team members threw tear gas into the home where he'd barricaded himself.
Gonzales survived and testified at Gomez's trial in April.
Gomez was convicted of first-degree murder and was facing a life sentence with or without the possibility of release.
His sentencing was delayed for several months so doctors could evaluate his mental health. After his trial, Gomez wrote the judge insisting he shot Rios because he was suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome.
On Friday, Hantman gave Gomez several opportunities to explain why he repeatedly spent time behind bars as a juvenile and was now facing sentencing in a second homicide case.
The first murder took place when he was young, and no one working in the criminal-justice system ever tried to help him, Gomez said.
Gomez told the judge Rios' murder was self-defense, he didn't want to keep repeating himself on that fact and his sentence would be whatever it is.
"I'd rather die on my feet than live on my knees, you know what I mean?" Gomez said.
Maybe he'll come out of prison a productive member of society or maybe he won't, Gomez said.
"You don't ever know," Gomez said.
Deputy Pima County Attorney Lewis Brandes told Hantman that Gomez was repeatedly offered services in the juvenile criminal-justice system, but he clearly has "no capacity to feel" and will never be rehabilitated because people with antisocial personality disorder can't be rehabilitated.
While it's true Gomez has a relatively low IQ at 75, there's no correlation between intelligence and killing people, Brandes said.
Brandes asked for a natural life sentence.
Defense attorney Jack Lansdale argued that Gomez should get a chance at release one day, citing his age, family support, low IQ and dysfunctional upbringing.
His family describes Gomez as warm, giving and kind, Lansdale said.
Gomez served five years in prison in the July 2005 death of Daniel Martinez, 18.
Gomez met Martinez in the Arizona Juvenile Department of Corrections, bore a grudge against him and killed him in a drug-related incident, according to prosecutors.
He was originally sentenced to 10 years in prison, but his sentence was reduced because a prior conviction was improperly used against him.
On StarNet: Follow the news and events at Pima County's courthouses in Kim Smith's blog, At the Courthouse, at azstarnet.com/courthouse
Contact reporter Kim Smith at 573-4241 or kimsmith@azstarnet.com
