Man Who Fired Gun in Air Must Take Out Ad in Paper

A man who fired a shotgun into the sky on Christmas Eve to celebrate was ordered by a judge Thursday to take out a full-page newspaper advertisement reminding people that random gunfire is dangerous and illegal.

Lorenzo Trujillo had faced a sentence of six months in jail after he pleaded guilty to firing a gun into the air, a felony. But in an unusual sentence proposed by Trujillo’s attorney and approved by Superior Court Judge David O. Carter, Trujillo must place the ad in a Spanish-language newspaper and serve 90 days in jail.

Santa Ana attorney Alex Mendoza Jr. said he could understand why authorities want to make an example out of his 27-year-old client but didn’t think a lengthy jail sentence was the best way to do it.

“Instead of just his friends and family saying, ‘Did you hear Lorenzo got six months in jail for this,’ the whole community will see that, ‘Wow, this is a felony,’ ” Mendoza said.

Trujillo, a construction worker with a wife and young child, had never been in trouble with the law until Christmas Eve when an officer saw him fire his shotgun outside his Santa Ana apartment, Mendoza said.

“He was just celebrating; it’s sort of a tradition in Mexico,” Mendoza said, adding his client was not intoxicated when he fired his gun and that no one was injured. “But he’s in Santa Ana now, so that’s a problem.”

Court officials say they’ve never seen a sentence quite like it.

“I think it’s actually a creative idea,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Scott Simmons, the case prosecutor. “Hopefully, it will work.”

The judge said the defendant’s attorney convinced him the advertisement was worth a try to curb a serious problem.

“We have a lot of near misses,” Carter said. “For the benefit of the citizens of Santa Ana, the court’s giving up 90 days [of jail time], might have some benefit.”

Santa Ana police stepped up efforts this year to curb celebratory gunfire. Volunteers and officers distributed 8,000 fliers last December in English, Spanish and Vietnamese warning of both the legal and life-threatening consequences.

The gunfire has not been blamed for any deaths in Santa Ana, but a handful of people in other cities such as Los Angeles and New Orleans have died from the random shooting.

Trujillo, who has been in Orange County Jail since his arrest, probably will be released next week. He must buy the ad within 30 days of his release.