Plea Deal Made in Athlete’s Murder
A 23-year-old has pleaded guilty to murdering a high school wrestler in Orange and has agreed to testify against his co-defendant and sometime girlfriend.
Brandan Perry and Veronica Paz, also 23, are charged with the November 2003 slaying of El Modena High School wrestling team captain Diego Gonzalez-Sanchez. The popular 17-year-old was shot to death and then set afire in what detectives said was the result of a lovers’ triangle.
For the record:
12:00 a.m. April 3, 2006 For The Record
Los Angeles Times Monday April 03, 2006 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 58 words Type of Material: Correction
Wrestler’s murder: An article in some editions of Thursday’s California section about Brandan Perry, a 23-year-old who pleaded guilty to murdering a high school wrestler in Orange, incorrectly said he will be eligible for parole after he serves 85% of his prison sentence of 25 years to life. He will be eligible for parole after serving 25 years.
Both were to stand trial in May, facing the possibility of life in prison without parole. But Perry on Tuesday changed his plea and admitted shooting Gonzalez-Sanchez.
Under the terms of the plea agreement, Perry agreed to testify in other court cases related to the murder. He will be sentenced July 7 to 25 years to life in prison. By law, Perry must serve 85% of his sentence before he is eligible for parole.
Perry’s court-appointed attorney, Michael Molfetta, described his client as “a kid that got involved with the wrong people, and now he’s paying the ultimate price for his lack of judgment.”
Prosecutor Michael Murray could not be reached for comment.
Associate Public Defender William G. Kelley, who is representing Paz, said Perry’s testimony made the case against his client “more interesting. It depends on how many lies he’s going to tell when he testifies.”
Paz is charged with murder and the special circumstance of lying in wait.
Kelley said during a February 2004 preliminary hearing that the killing was unplanned and that Paz had not played a direct role in the death. According to Kelley, Paz thought the two would just have a fistfight.
Detectives testified at the hearing that a shared passion for Paz had spawned a rivalry between Gonzalez-Sanchez and Perry. The defendants had plotted the killing for at least two months, investigators said, after Gonzalez-Sanchez and Perry argued at a party.
Two others had been charged in the crime. Albert Thomas Medina III pleaded guilty to covering up the killing by lying to police in interviews. Kimberly Gomez pleaded guilty to accessory to murder after the fact by providing Perry and Paz with false alibis.
Medina was sentenced to six days in jail and three years’ probation. Gomez has yet to be sentenced.
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