Transient Guilty in Gun Death at Shelter : Trial: The defendant says that the 44-year-old woman he killed had ‘challenged his manhood’ but that he hadn’t intended to shoot her, just scare her.

Jurors deliberated less than two hours Tuesday before finding a 21-year-old transient guilty of second-degree murder in the shooting death of a woman at a Costa Mesa homeless shelter last October.

Alonzo Marquez, who claimed that he only pointed a gun at the victim to scare her, faces an automatic sentence of 17 years to life in prison when he is sentenced by Superior Court Judge James P. Gray on Oct. 5.

The victim, 44-year-old Regina Lillian Bisignano, regularly visited the Orange Coast Interfaith Shelter in Costa Mesa, primarily to use the free showers. On Oct. 16, she had just dressed after taking a shower and was combing her hair on the patio area outside the shower room when she was confronted by Marquez.

The defendant, who speaks no English, said he tried to say something nice to her about her figure but that she said something back to him that he felt “challenged his manhood.”

He testified that he never intended to shoot her.

But jurors said they did not accept Marquez’s testimony that the shooting was an accident.

“He pointed the gun and pulled the trigger,” one juror said. “That was no accident.”

Last week, Judge Gray granted a motion by Deputy Public Defender Brooks Talley that jurors not be permitted to consider first-degree murder, which would have required proof of premeditation. Deputy Dist. Atty. Christopher J. Evans said he was not dissatisfied with the court’s ruling.

“This was a second-degree murder case; we’re pleased with the jury’s decision,” Evans said.

Bisignano started living on the streets, at least part time, after her second marriage ended several years ago. Her mother, Lucy J. Shirley of Paramount, said her daughter survived by persuading people holding yard sales to let her have leftover items, which she then sold.

But despite her own hard circumstances, Bisignano spent considerable energy helping others even less fortunate than herself, relatives said. Shelter director Cindy Ochs said Bisignano was a well-liked visitor, one who was friendly and always seemed happy.

“I don’t have any animosity toward this man (Marquez),” Shirley said. “But he ought not have done what he did. Sis (the victim’s nickname) never harmed a soul in her life; she didn’t deserve this.”

Marquez claimed in his testimony that he did not even know how the gun worked. He said he tried to shoot it in an open field before the shooting at the shelter and couldn’t get it to work. He also testified that he had no idea where the trigger was.

But on cross-examination, prosecutor Evans asked Marquez if it would be a good idea to point the gun at his own head and pull the lever next to the handle. With a laugh, Marquez answered that that would be crazy because the lever would cause the gun to fire.

The shooting was a shock to authorities at Orange County’s numerous homeless shelters, where even minor incidents of violence are rare. But it had the most dramatic effect on the Costa Mesa shelter where it happened. After the Bisignano shooting, the shelter had to close its free showers to the homeless because of insurance problems, Ochs said.