SAN DIEGO (CNS) - A man who fatally shot a bicyclist in an Encanto-area neighborhood more than three decades ago was sentenced Thursday to 11 years in state prison.
Leovardo Salceda, 52, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in connection with the death of 37-year-old Oliver Harrison, who was shot on July 31, 1988.
Police said Harrison, who was riding a bicycle in the 600 block of 61st Street, was struck by a stray bullet fired during an altercation between Salceda and another man.
At his sentencing hearing, Salceda told the victim's family he was "very sorry," but said, "unfortunately, I was put in a position where I had to defend myself for having a gun pointed at me."
Though a "person of interest" was identified around the time of the shooting, the case went cold because witnesses to the shooting were uncooperative, San Diego police Lt. Matt Dobbs said last year in a statement announcing Salceda's arrest.
Detectives continued working the case, however, and "eventually developed enough information" to arrest Salceda, who was taken into custody last year in downtown San Diego.
