Richard Flores, a 25-year-old man, was sentenced Friday, Dec. 12, to 44 years to life in prison for fatally shooting Jefferson Diaz, a 30-year-old man, in Anaheim back in 2021.
Flores’ defense attorneys said the incident involved a dispute over a vehicle purchase.
Flores was convicted on Oct. 23, of second-degree murder.
Flores fatally shot Diaz with an AR-15-style rifle at the 1700 block of West Glenoaks Avenue, about a quarter-mile west of Euclid Street, before midnight, on April 16, 2021.
Prosecutors said that Flores went looking for Diaz in an alley. When Flores found Diaz at his garage, the victim repeatedly asked Flores to “put the gun down.”
Diaz tried to snatch the rifle away, but then Flores “stepped back and fired the rifle one time at the victim’s midsection and killed him,” according to the prosecutors.
Flores fled the scene at around 5:50 am.
Davis was transported to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Anaheim police SWAT conducted yard-to-yard searches along with Fullerton police to help locate Flores. Around 40 police officers were involved in the search.
Anaheim police used a helicopter to surveil the nearby areas and used a loudspeaker to instruct nearby Anaheim and Fullerton residents to stay in their homes, alerting that an armed suspect was on the loose. Surrounding schools were placed on lockdown for the duration of the search.
At 10:12 a.m., police apprehended Flores in the 600 block of South Brookhurst Road in Fullerton.
Flores allegedly hid the weapon used in the shooting near his uncle’s home in Pomona, according to the prosecutors.
The defendant’s attorney said that the shooting was an accidental discharge. That argument failed and Flores is now looking at a very long prison sentence.
Richard should get a chance I read the situation he was just a young kid at the time he just turn 20 and was only 120lbs at the time and the guy Jeff was know to do a lot of drugs and the past and he also rape a 18 year old girl when she was on drugs and he was not a friendly guy he would beat up guys in the alleyway and was a bully at time , so yes I read the situation Richard had with Jeff friend the were arguing about a situation and then the guy threaten Richard and wanted to hurt him and Richard was just a kid at the time and those two men were 30+ years of age and both over 190+ pounds and have a few inches taller then Richard and it was a situation about a car and Richard parked it at Jeff becase he trusted Jeff but then when Richard went to get receive his car is was gone and then he seen Jeff outside telling him come here but Richard didn’t want to risk it because of Jeff best friend threatening Richard, so Richard played it safe and went to the alley way and that when Richard took out a gun for safety he had a something like a ball on his head that was really deadly if he got hit in the head , all Richard wanted to do was get his car and leave , Richard did not want to be hurt or killed just because he was trying to save his car and so he brought his gun just in case if he does go out dying but he ask Jeff weres my car and Jeff kept annoying him and keep getting close to Richard putting pressure on him to put it down and Richard had the gun pulling down the whole time , but yeah Jeff keep getting closer and Richard asked him I just want my car and so Jeff kept annoying him and Amir and try to grab Richard gun and try to punch him in the face and Jeff miss and that’s when Richard accidentally shot him because Jeff pulled the gun and Richard had no choice but to grab it back and run but it was too late the gun fired off because of both grabbing and Richard was a youngest kid , live thrown away because of a guy who was a rapest and a bully