CHASKA, Minn. — A St. Paul woman will serve a 20-year prison sentence after being convicted in the shooting death of her teenage boyfriend.
Carver County Judge Eric Braaten sentenced 19-year-old Vanessa Sanchez Lopez to 240 months behind bars after she was convicted of second-degree murder in connection with the shooting, which took place on Feb. 2, 2023.
A criminal complaint filed in the case says Sanchez-Lopez and three passengers, including her 17-year-old boyfriend Manuel Ernesto Bernal Jurado, drove from St. Paul to a residence in Chanhassen that night. Witnesses in the car said the couple had been arguing all night, with the defendant accusing Jurado of cheating.
At one point, witnesses told police, Sanchez-Lopez grabbed a semi-automatic handgun, pointed it directly at the victim's head and fired, mortally wounding him. The defendant reportedly panicked, asking others in the vehicle "What the (expletive) do we do, I don't want to bring him, cuz I don't want to go the (expletive) to prison."
The complaint says the victim was driven at high speed to Fairview Southdale Hospital in Edina, where he was pronounced dead. Law enforcement pursued the speeding vehicle to the hospital and discovered Jurado's body in the back seat.
After she was arrested, a breath test put Sanchez Lopez's blood alcohol content (BAC) at .13.
Police say when questioned, Sanchez-Lopez originally claimed that she was "dancing around" inside the vehicle when the gun accidentally fired. Police say after continued interrogation, she admitted to pointing the gun at Jurado's neck and intentionally pulling the trigger but claimed she did not know the gun was loaded. The defendant denied arguing with the victim at any point in their relationship.
"This entirely avoidable tragedy resulted in the tragic loss of a 17-year-old child who had his whole life in front of him: a tremendous loss to his family and friends," said Carver County Attorney Mark Metz in a written statement following the sentencing.
Minnesota law requires a defendant to serve at least two-thirds of their sentence, meaning that Sanchez Lopez would be eligible for parole after 13.2 years.
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