For release on April 16, 2013
CONTACT PERSON:
Matthew Braker, Deputy District Attorney
Homicide Unit
(408) 792-2531
Today, a San Jose apartment maintenance man who fatally shot an intruder during a citizen’s arrest pleaded guilty to felony involuntary manslaughter with use of a firearm.
Luis Ricardo Hernandez, 26, will be to be sentenced to four years in county jail on June 17, 2013 by the Honorable Daniel T. Nishigaya, Judge of the Superior Court. Prosecutor Matt Braker said, "After a thorough investigation, the evidence shows the defendant never had the intent to kill the victim. The evidence shows that Mr. Soriano died because of the defendant's extremely reckless and criminally negligent behavior. By pleading guilty early in the process to involuntary manslaughter, the defendant has accepted responsibility for his actions and the punishment that goes with those actions.” There had been a rash of burglaries at the Summer Breeze apartments over the months previous to the shooting. Days before the incident, Hernandez and his supervisor viewed a security video showing a theft occurring inside the apartment’s parking garage. On the morning of New Year’s Eve 2012, Hernandez’s supervisor saw the same truck from the video drive into the underground parking lot. Suspecting the driver of being the thief, the two men approached Soriano and attempted to arrest him. A struggle ensued during which Soriano was shot at close range, less than an inch away. Soriano, a 36-year-old, died of the wound soon afterward. ###