CHULA VISTA (CNS) - A man who gunned down his stepmother in Chula Vista was sentenced Friday to 40 years to life in state prison.
Norberto Sanchez, 57, pleaded guilty in June to second-degree murder and to personally using a firearm in connection with the March 2, 2019, slaying of Maria Esther Gonzalez, 65.
At Sanchez's arraignment, Deputy District Attorney Bree Garcia said the victim was struck by a TV tray due to injuries indicating she was attempting to shield her head from the blows and that following that attack, Sanchez retrieved a gun and shot her four times.
According to Chula Vista police, a woman called 911 just after 1:30 p.m. that day and informed dispatchers that her uncle had just called and told her he had killed his father's wife.
She reported her uncle was on his way to her house on Arizona Street, and officers arrested Sanchez there. Other officers found Gonzalez at a home in the 1100 block of Oasis Avenue. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
