A gun-toting skateboarder who fatally shot a fellow board rider in a Lodi park has been sentenced to 40 years in state prison after a retrial of his murder case.
Alejandro Duran Mercado “showed zero remorse” following his conviction of second-degree murder in the 2021 slaying of Cenobio Nicholas “Nick” Gallegos, officials from the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office said.
Mercado had mistakenly identified Gallegos, 29, as a rival gang member during their Feb. 26, 2021, confrontation, authorities said. In fact, Gallegos had no gang affiliations.
The DA’s office said Mercado’s sentencing hearing was marred by his belligerence, disruptive behavior and outbursts in San Joaquin County Superior Court.
The defendant “became extremely agitated and verbally abusive toward the court and his own counsel. His disruptive behavior eventually escalated to the point where he was removed by bailiffs, choosing to be absent rather than facing the victim’s family during their impact statements,” officials said.
As a result, Judge Richard Mallett sentenced Mercado without him being present. The judge also took note of Mercado’s admitted history of gang involvement and violent behavior.
The sentence included 15 years to life for second-degree murder plus an additional 25 years to life for having committed the crime with a gun, the DA’s office said. He was convicted in April after a jury trial.
The “sentence ensures that a violent individual who showed an utter lack of human decency, both at the time of the crime and within the halls of justice, will no longer be a threat to our community,” District Attorney Ron Freitas said in a statement. “While the defendant chose to be disruptive rather than face the family he devastated with dignity, the justice system stood firm.”
Mercado was previously convicted of the same murder charge, but the conviction was overturned. An appellate court threw out the conviction because the jury had received faulty instructions.
The killing occurred in February 2021 when Mercado, who was skateboarding on east Pine Street in Lodi, encountered Gallegos, who was also riding a skateboard. Gallegos was coming from the opposite direction, prosecutors said. Mercado thought Gallegos must be a rival gang member because he was wearing a red shirt.
Gallegos, who was unarmed, was shot twice with a .357-caliber revolver. One of the bullets struck his right temple.
Mercado fled, but Lodi police tracked him down and arrested him after reviewing video and hearing witness accounts.