SAN DIEGO (CNS) - A man convicted of fatally shooting his neighbor in Chollas View was sentenced Friday to 19 years to life in state prison.
Eugene Martinez, 52, was found guilty of second-degree murder by a San Diego jury for the Nov. 14, 2022, shooting of 33-year-old Anthony Haro.
San Diego police responded just after 6 a.m. that day to the 700 block of 44th Street, where Haro was found with a bullet wound to his chest. Paramedics took him to Scripps Mercy Hospital, where he was pronounced dead a few hours later.
Around the time of Martinez's arrest, SDPD Lt. Steve Shebloski said the shooting arose from an argument between the men over loud noise occurring in the early morning hours. The lieutenant said during that confrontation, Martinez shot Haro with a handgun.
Martinez was arrested later that day in the Clairemont neighborhood.
Defense attorney Jeremy Fredrickson-Aguilar told jurors Martinez acted in self-defense as Haro and Haro's brother had attacked his client and beaten him "to the point of losing consciousness" on the day of the shooting. The attorney said Martinez "was pushed beyond the brink, snapped and acted to defend himself."
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