A 20-year prison term was handed down Monday to the woman who fatally shot Lorenzo Rodriguez in his own Alpine home by firing a gun that was concealed inside a boot during a party.
Deputy District Attorney Kristina Gill said Angela Marie Meza, 49, of Alpine, will have to serve 85%–17 years–of her term before she can be paroled because the offense is a violent felony conviction.
About 40 people showed up for the sentencing of Meza, who pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the May 16, 2017 slaying at 31 Viejas Grade in Alpine near the Viejas Indian Reservation.
Meza also admitted to personally using a gun which she hid in an UGG boot and fired once, killing Rodriguez, 42, whom Gill said she did not know.
El Cajon Superior Court Judge Robert Amador imposed 12 years for manslaughter and added five years for Meza’s prior assault conviction from 2001. He then added three years consecutively for using a gun in a homicide.
The earliest year Meza can get paroled is 2034, when she will turn 64 years old, as she received credit for 811 days she has spent in jail.
“Lorenzo was my heart,” said Sarah Hernandez, the mother of his only son in a victim’s impact statement in court. She lives in Alpine.
“He was the most beautiful man I had ever seen. He had this smile that would melt a heart,” said Hernandez. “His heart was golden. Always helping the people that everyone else turned their back on.”
Hernandez reflected on “a phone call that would rock my entire life” when she learned Rodriguez had been killed. She said she had to break it to his son and her other son that “their Daddy was never coming home.”
“When he left the earth, he took a piece of my heart” and “a piece of both of my sons’ hearts,” she told the judge.
“So many questions that will never be answered,” said Hernandez, such as why Meza shot Rodriguez. “So much pain that has been brought to these children, our family, our friends.”
The victim’s father, Ricardo Rodriguez, told the judge “still the sadness remains.”
“The murder of Lorenzo has devastated our entire family,” said Ricardo Rodriguez. “The loss of my son is beyond words. Missed opportunities…to say ‘I love you’ is forever gone.”
“I can’t call him, shake his hand,” said Ricky Rodriguez, his older brother.
Amador said it was believed that Meza had used some type of illegal drug before the shooting.
“Miss Meza, what happened was shocking. It was so unnecessary,” the judge said to her.
Meza, dressed in a grey sweatshirt and jail pants, wept as she briefly spoke. “I’m sorry for taking him away from you. I’m sorry,” she said.
About seven members of her family and friends also attended the sentencing.
Her attorney, Angela Turner, said Meza “tearfully confessed” to sheriff’s deputies that she had shot Rodriguez.
Turner said “the consequence of (her) actions weighed very heavily” on Meza.
Amador fined Meza $6,224. If someone puts money on her prison account, a portion of that will be set aside to pay the fines.
A murder charge was dismissed after she pleaded guilty to manslaughter on March 22.
During a 2-day preliminary hearing in March 2018, party guests testified Meza was in a chair holding an UGG boot, but no one thought anything of it until she fired a shot from it.
One guest said she saw smoke coming out of a hole in the boot. Everyone looked for an exit, and some went through windows in a panic to escape, said guests.
Rodriguez was quoted by guests as asking Meza why she shot him. He was hit in the torso and died at the scene.
The judge told the audience that Rodriguez will not be forgotten.
