An Alpine woman who conÂcealed a gun inside a boot and shot a man at a party pleaded guilty March 22 to voluntary manslaughter.
Sentencing for Angela MaÂrie Meza, 49, was set for April 22 in El Cajon Superior Court in the death of Lorenzo AlejanÂdro Rodriguez, 42.
Deputy District Attorney Kristina Gill said Meza admitÂted to personal use of the gun which was fired from an UGG boot that was on her lap at a party at 31 Viejas Grade Road in Alpine on May 16, 2017.
Meza could face a sentence of approximately 12 years in state prison. She remains in the Las Colinas Women’s DeÂtention Facility on $4 million bail.
According to testimony at the preliminary hearing, party guests recalled Meza holding the boot in her lap, but nobody thought anything about it until they heard the lone gunshot.
One party guest testified March 28, 2018 that she saw smoke coming out of a hole in the boot. Guests testified evÂeryone immediately ran for an exit and some left through a window.
Witnesses said Rodriguez asked Meza why she shot him, but she didn’t respond. He was shot in the torso at 6:35 p.m. and fell to the ground. At the time, Rodriguez was talking with someone about measurÂing something on the floor.
One guest remembered seeÂing Meza put her hand inside the boot, and other witnesses said she moved the boot back and forth. No specific motive has been determined.
A murder charge was disÂmissed after Meza pleaded guilty to manslaughter. Her trial had been scheduled to start on April 8.
