The young man who drove a car from which fatal shots were fired at another man has been given a suspended prison sentence and will be deported.
Jose Alfredo Torres, 17, was sentenced Friday by 3rd District Judge Michael Burton to one-to-15 years in prison for second-degree felony manslaughter. Burton suspended the prison sentence, but ordered Torres to spend one year in jail.
The judge also ordered Torres to be on probation for 36 months and then be turned over to Immigration and Naturalization Service for deportation.
Torres originally had been charged with first-degree murder.
Another man, Jose Avilles, was sentenced in April in connection with the same crime to five years to life in prison.
Both Torres and Avilles, now 18, were minors when the crime occurred but were charged as adults.
Court documents say that the murder victim, Ruben A. Salinas, was driving on Redwood Road on Nov. 24, 2002, when Torres spotted Salinas' car and recalled an altercation that occurred several days before.
Torres, who told police that he knew that there was a gun in the car he was driving, caught up with Salinas, and Torres rolled down his vehicle's power windows, according to court documents.
Torres told police that he heard a gunshot from the rear of his vehicle and Salinas' vehicle went off the road, according to court documents.
Avilles told police he was riding in the back seat of Torres' car and said he, Avilles, took a .22 caliber rifle from the rear seat area and shot Salinas in the head, court documents state.
E-MAIL: lindat@desnews.com