Man Sentenced To 16 Years To Life For Stabbing Murder Of Friend Who Criticized His Driving
SANTA ANA (CBS) — A Las Vegas man who fatally stabbed a friend in Orange for criticizing his driving was sentenced Friday to 16 years to life in prison.
Arnulfo Gonzalez, 30, was convicted Aug. 25 of second-degree murder with an enhancement for using a deadly weapon.
Gonzalez stabbed Samuel Valdivia on March 14, 2010, after Valdivia criticized his driving while the two were with other friends that day, Deputy District Attorney Scott Simmons said.
Valdivia also reportedly called Gonzalez "small" and said he had no money, the prosecutor said.
The friends, who had been out drinking, went to the victim's home on north Olive Street in Orange, where Gonzalez challenged Valdivia to a fight, Simmons said.
Valdivia followed Gonzalez outside to tell him to forget their dispute and to come back inside the house and eat with their friends. That's when Gonzalez stabbed him, Simmons said.
Gonzalez's niece told Orange County Superior Court Judge Thomas Goethals how much she missed her uncle, "who was always on the grill at family get-togethers," Simmons said.
Gonzalez had been drinking heavily and doing a heavy amount of methamphetamine at the time of the crime, Simmons said.
(©2011 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)
