Calabasas Man Sentenced In Murder Of High School Soccer Star
VAN NUYS (CBSLA.com) — A Calabasas man convicted of gunning down a high school soccer star outside of his Winnetka home last year was sentenced Tuesday to 50 years to life in prison.
In September, Jason Alejandro Schumann was convicted of first-degree murder in the shooting death of 17-year-old Francisco "Pancho" Rodriguez.
The El Camino Real High School student and soccer team goalie had just returned home from a game against Taft High School Jan. 11 when a red-haired woman or girl reportedly knocked on the door and asked for him by name.
When Rodriguez stepped outside, he was shot three to four times in the chest and back.
Deputy District Attorney Beth Silverman said a jealous Schumann killed Rodriguez because he believed the teen had been sexually involved with his girlfriend.
In a statement read in court by a representative from the District Attorney's Office, the victim's mother said her life "changed forever" when her only son was murdered.
According to her statement, Esther Rodriguez was on the phone inside her home when she heard the gun shots outside.
"I ran to him, crying and screaming for help," the statement read. "I saw how my son's life was slipping away and his soul was leaving his body."
Rodriguez described her son's death as "devastating," and said her heart remains broken by the loss.
Schumann was taken into custody five days after the shooting and has been jailed since his arrest.
The judge denied a defense motion for a new trial.
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