Chatsworth Man Gets 8 Years in Fatal Shooting
A27-year old Chatsworth man was sentenced to eight years in prison Thursday for fatally shooting a man during an argument.
Zeferino Rosales Leon pleaded guilty in April to first-degree manslaughter in the death of Ignacio Gomez, 26. Leon originally was charged with murder, but that charge was dismissed when he agreed to plead to the lesser crime.
Gomez died of medical complications from the bullet wound on May 18, 1988--more than six weeks after the shooting took place.
During the sentencing, Public Defender Jerry M. Schultz pleaded with San Fernando Superior Court Judge Meredith Taylor not to give Leon the maximum 13-year sentence, arguing that Gomez’s death was caused as much by medical negligence as by Leon’s actions.
According to court documents, Gomez was released from Northridge Hospital Medical Center less than a week after the shooting. A month later, he returned to the hospital, complaining of discomfort and was referred to the Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, where he died.
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