SAN ANTONIO – A jury on Friday sentenced a San Antonio man to life in prison for the fatal shooting of a man who was trying to collect money on rental tires.
On Thursday that same jury found Richard Vallejo guilty of murder for the June 2020 shooting death of Andrew Gomez.
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Gomez worked for a rental tire company and was looking for Vallejo who owed money on some tires. Gomez went to Vallejo’s parent’s house, and when Vallejo showed up, video surveillance showed him shooting an unarmed Gomez six times.
Throughout the trial Vallejo’s defense team said the shooting was an act of self-defense, which the defendant testified to on the witness stand.
“He was here for my family, he wasn’t here for tires or money,” Vallejo said.
The defendant said Gomez had sent him what he perceived as threatening texts and the messages said the victim was waiting for him at the home of the defendant’s parents.
Prosecutor Nicole Phillips grilled Vallejo about the self-defense claim and why he didn’t call police ahead of time.
“What you think you hear, what detectives think they hear is not what happened,” Vallejo said when referring to the interaction between him and Gomez.
The defendant’s testimony didn’t convince the jury and Vallejo was found guilty of murder.
Vallejo is eligible for parole after serving 30 years of his life sentence.