A 25-year-old man was sentenced this week to 27 years to life in prison for gunning down a man in Santa Ana after a fight three years ago.
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Adrian Ayala was convicted Aug. 13 of second-degree murder for fatally shooting 26-year-old Gonzalo Carlos of Santa Ana a few minutes before midnight on Oct. 8, 2023.
“An innocent man died because the defendant felt disrespected,” Deputy District Attorney Gerard Gully told jurors in his opening statement. “That’s what this case is all about.”
Carlos crashed the BMW he was driving in the 2300 block of West Fifth Street, about a half-mile west of Fairview Street, after he was shot, Gully said.
The confrontation began when Carlos, who worked in construction, parked near El Salvador Park and chatted with a friend when he was approached by Ayala and another man, who were on bikes, Gully said.
Something sparked a dispute. A brawl was broken up by a woman skateboarding by who happened to know Ayala as a former classmate.
The two men had never met.
A short time later, Carlos and Ayala came across each other at Fifth and Sullivan streets, Gully said.
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Video surveillance caught part of a fistfight as well as the shooting, he said. In video shown to jurors, Carlos can be seen driving away, pursued by Ayala.
Carlos appeared to swerve to avoid the bullets but eventually was shot in the head.
Ayala rode away on his bicycle.
Carlos’ mistake was saying something to Ayala that offended him, Gully said: “(He) just disrespected the defendant in his neighborhood in front of the defendant’s friend.”
Ayala’s attorney, Fred Fascenelli, told jurors his client did open fire on Carlos but was defending himself.
The trouble started when Ayala and his friend asked Carlos for a cigarette, Fascenelli said: “He hit him up for a smoke and the driver didn’t like that and a fight ensued.”
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