A 20-year-old who fatally shot another man in National City was sentenced Wednesday to 50 years to life in state prison.
Israel Moreno was convicted by a San Diego jury of first-degree murder and a firearm allegation for the Oct. 31, 2021, shooting death of Marquis Lamar Hargrove.
Police found Hargrove, 20, lying in the roadway on East 20th Street with multiple gunshot wounds. He was taken to a hospital, where he died.
Moreno, who was 18 at the time of the shooting, called police shortly after the shooting and claimed he shot Hargrove in self-defense, according to the National City Police Department.
Moreno’s defense attorney, Jan Ronis, made similar claims in court on Wednesday.
Ronis said Moreno’s cousin was in a troubled, abusive dating relationship with Hargrove and on the night in question, Hargrove started physically assaulting the woman. He said Moreno opened fire first in defense of his cousin, then in defense of himself after Hargrove chased him into the street.
Deputy District Attorney Roza Egiazarian said the alleged domestic abuse motive was “just a story.”
The prosecutor said Moreno and Hargrove were once friends, but their friendship had been deteriorating for nearly a year. Egiazarian claimed Moreno “harbored ill hatred for the victim and when he had the opportunity, when he had the power of that gun in his hand, he seized that opportunity.”
She also alleged Hargrove was unarmed and was shot multiple times in the back while “running away for his life.”
The attorneys said there were disputes regarding the interactions leading up to the shooting.
Ronis said some witnesses testified that Hargrove chased after Moreno in an apparent attempt to assault him.
Egiazarian said that according to other witnesses, Moreno pursued the victim then shot him multiple times as he was trying to hide among parked vehicles.
Ronis, who said he was “shocked” that jurors returned a first-degree murder verdict, asked San Diego Superior Court Judge David Gill to reduce the jury’s finding to voluntary manslaughter, but the judge denied the request.
–City News Service
