OAKLAND — A 25-year-old Oakland man has pleaded no contest to an assault with a firearm charge, resulting in the dismissal of a murder charge and a 17-year prison term.
Rodolfo Montanorico pleaded no contest to assault with a firearm in the shooting death of 19-year-old Luis Delgadillo, who was dating Montanorico’s sister at the time. At a 2020 preliminary hearing, Montanorico’s sister described Delgadillo as an abusive boyfriend who angrily confronted her just before the fatal shooting.
Montanorico allegedly fired shots into Delgadillo’s vehicle, striking him. Delgadillo crashed the car and was pronounced dead from gunshot wounds later that day.
On July 14, Montanorico was formally sentenced to 17 years in prison, with credit for time served since his August 2019 arrest. A judge ordered him to serve his sentence at San Quentin State Prison, court records show.
At the preliminary hearing, Montanorico’s sister testified that at the time of the 2017 shooting she was 17 and pregnant with Delgadillo’s child. She described Delgadillo as an “occasionally” abusive boyfriend who would punch, kick and throw her on the floor.
“He’s told me he would go look for me, basically hunt me down if I try to leave him or anything,” Montanorico’s sister testified.
Delgadillo was killed May 30, 2017 on the 1300 block of 51st Avenue in Oakland.
On the day of the shooting, Delgadillo confronted Montanorico’s sister and grabbed her by the wrist, and Montanorico intervened, his sister testified. This news organization is not naming the sister per a policy to protect the identity of alleged victims of domestic violence.
“(Delgadillo) said, ‘This is my baby mama, you know, this is our business and not yours,’ ” Montanorico’s sister testified. “And my brother had responded, ‘This is my baby sister, this is my business.’ ”
Delgadillo in turn mentioned his affiliation with a local gang, which Montanorico “laughed off,” she testified. As the confrontation progressed, Delgadillo drove his car in front of both of them, and Montanorico opened fire with a pistol, according to witness testimony.
At the preliminary hearing, Montanorico’s attorney described his client as a concerned brother who prevented his sister from being kidnapped. The prosecution argued there was no evidence that Montanorico had been threatened and that he needlessly brought deadly force into the conflict.
Judge Michael Gaffey said that he would order Montanorico to stand trial on a manslaughter count, not murder, taking an unusual measure of dismissing the murder count at the preliminary hearing. But he added he was not making factual findings, giving prosecutors the option of refiling the murder charge, which they did.
“This has voluntary manslaughter written all over, but I think it is for a jury to make that decision, not for me to make that decision today,” Gaffey said.
Source: www.mercurynews.com