‘84 Pacoima Death : Bar Owner Gets 5 Years in Shooting

A Pacoima bar owner who said he shot a customer in self-defense was sentenced Thursday to five years in state prison for voluntary manslaughter and use of a firearm.

The bar owner, Ignacio Galeana Infante, 45, was convicted Feb. 19 in the 1984 shooting death of Salvador Rodriguez, 21, of Sun Valley.

Judge Howard J. Schwab sentenced Infante on Thursday in San Fernando Superior Court.

Lawrence E. Picone, deputy district attorney, had argued that Infante may have believed that an intoxicated customer was threatening him with a knife, but that it was “imperfect self-defense” to shoot Rodriguez five times after Rodriguez had already been felled by two shots.

The shooting at La Mira Bar in Pacoima occurred on Oct. 15, 1984, when Infante was trying to persuade Rodriguez to leave at 1:30 a.m. so he and his wife could close, according to court records.

Wife Yelled to Husband

Rodriguez was shot twice outside the bar after Infante’s wife thought she saw the victim pull out a knife and yelled to warn her husband, the records show.

A witness testified that he heard two shots, then saw Infante walk several steps toward the injured Rodriguez and fire five more shots.

Infante testified that, because he was so upset during the incident, he does not remember anything after the second shot and before he fled the scene in his car.

Investigators said Rodriguez had seven gunshot wounds. Infante’s attorney argued during the trial that his client fired in self-defense because he believed that Rodriguez had a knife.

No knife was found at the scene, Picone said.