Man Gets 16 Years To Life In 2010 Antioch Dragging Death
ANTIOCH (CBS SF) -- A Brentwood man was sentenced to 16 years to life in prison Tuesday for striking and dragging a woman with his truck in Antioch in 2010.
Lucio Rivera-Avila, 54, received the sentence in a Richmond courtroom Tuesday afternoon, two months after being convicted of second-degree murder with use of a deadly weapon for killing 47-year-old Shelly Baker of Antioch in December 2010.
The sentence is the mandatory term for second-degree murder in California, Deputy District Attorney Molly Manoukian said.
In the early hours of Dec. 6, 2010, the defendant and suspect, who were acquaintances, were driving in Antioch when Rivera-Avila became angry and pulled over in a parking lot in the 1700 block of Cavallo Road, Manoukian said.
According to the prosecutor, evidence suggests that after Baker exited the truck, the defendant backed up and realigned the vehicle with Baker's body before using the truck to hit and drag her body about 70 feet.
Police officers found the woman's body in the roadway and took her to a hospital, where she died from her injuries.
Manoukian said that at the time of his arrest, Rivera-Avila denied any part of Baker's killing.
Later, at trial, "he claimed his foot slipped on the accelerator and he accidentally struck her but didn't know he hit her," she said Tuesday.
Ultimately, the jury sided against the Brentwood man, who has a prior felony conviction for assault with a deadly weapon.
(Copyright 2013 by CBS San Francisco and Bay City News Service. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
