Santee

A 55-year-old man who shot his girlfriend three times as she ran from her Santee condominium was sentenced Monday to 17 years to life in state prison.

San Diego Superior Court Judge Richard Huffman also fined Herbert Scabery of San Diego $2,000 in the May 28 death of Gayle Neuner, 42.

Scabery had dated Neuner for one year after meeting her at a Santee church’s singles group, but was jealous over her spending time with other men, his probation report said.

Scabery pleaded guilty Sept. 20 to second-degree murder. According to Deputy Dist. Atty. Gloria Michaels, Scabery waited for Neuner in her home May 28 with a gun after a church singles group retreat in Yosemite.

The report said the victim’s son, Rodney, 17, discovered Scabery in the house, but Scabery gave him some money and asked him to leave so he and his mother could be alone.

The report said Rodney Neuner waited down the street and unsuccessfully tried to flag down his mother’s car as she returned home from the trip. Minutes later, he said, he saw his mother fleeing from Scabery outside the condo on Michala Place in Santee.

Michaels said Neuner was shot twice in the back and once in the back of the head. Scabery fled the scene and later called the pastor of Seventh-day Adventist Church in Santee to discuss what happened, the report said.