An Alpine man who shot his girlfriend seven times after an argument was sentenced July 30 to 40 years to life in state prison.
Paul Alan Paraschak, 44, apologized before he was sentenced for shooting Melanie “Ling Ling” Benitez, 27, who lived with him in Alpine.
She was on her way to work at the Victoria Post Acute Care Center in El Cajon as a nursing assistant when she was shot outside his vehicle on Feb. 23, 2019.
El Cajon Superior Court Judge John Thompson imposed 15 years to life for Paraschak’s guilty plea to second-degree murder and added 25 years for his acknowledgement of personal use of a handgun in a homicide.
Thompson fined Paraschak $10,224 and ordered him to pay $7,500 to the victim’s compensation program. He gave him credit for 524 days spent in jail since the incident.
Benitez was shot seven times outside Paraschak’s white Lincoln that was parked in an Alpine driveway in the 2800 block of North Victoria Drive. Neither of them knew who lived there.
Deputy District Attorney Jessica Lees read a letter out loud that was written by the victim’s sister, Melody Benitez. A message was left for Paraschak’s attorney, but he could not be reached for comment.
Audio of the sentencing was supposed to live streamed on the YouTube Channel via the Superior Court website, but there were several mishaps that prevented it.
The first one involved a video equipped room in the George Bailey Detention Facility where Paraschak was housed. The video equipment went out of order, said Superior Court spokesperson Emily Cox, and another room had to be found.
Paraschak appeared remotely as did the attorneys because the courts are mostly closed due to the coronavirus outbreak.
However, a second mishap occurred in which listeners apparently only heard silence for an hour while the sentencing was going on. Cox said she didn’t know why the live streaming did not work.
After Paraschak’s sentencing was over, the livestream continued with the rest of Thompson’s calendar.
Apparently, the victim’s family and others were unable to hear the sentencing.
Paraschak was taking his girlfriend to her work and a co-worker testified Benitez called her saying she was on her way to work.
Witnesses in the Alpine neighborhood where the shooting occurred testified at the preliminary hearing that they heard “two people screaming at each other” before the gunshots.
Apparently, Benitez exited the vehicle and was shot repeatedly, as her body was found in the driveway. Paraschak walked off, carrying the murder weapon and another firearm in his clothing.
“What about me? No one cares about me!” Paraschak was quoted by a witness as saying as he walked off.
After his arrest, Paraschak told a Fox 5 News reporter that he was intoxicated with alcohol and marijuana at the time of the shooting.
Another judge determined in 2019 that Paraschak was mentally competent to stand trial.
