With about 20 friends and family looking on, a South Bay man was sentenced Aug. 25 to 20 years in state prison for wounding two men at a Chula Vista bus stop.
The March 19 shooting of two men in their legs by Andre Christopher Vega at 6:25 a.m. in the 1600 block of Broadway was unusual because he didn’t know the victims and initially there was no explanation for it.
In court it was revealed that Vega, 27, was wounded in the chest three weeks prior to the incident in Imperial Beach in an unsolved shooting. Vega, who is also known as Rian Anthony Anders, does not know who shot him, but his lawyer said he suspected a gang targeted him.
Vega pleaded guilty July 5 to two counts of attempted murder in the shootings of Francisco Duenas, 19, and David Hernandez, 26, who were waiting at a MTS bus bench in the 1600 block of Broadway. They are not gang members.
Deputy District Attorney James Fontaine said both men were each shot in the legs and both were “going to make a full recovery.” The bullets hit no arteries and exited their legs.
Fontaine told Chula Vista Superior Court Judge Ana Espana that Vega shot the two men because he wanted to “seek vengeance for his own victimization” even though the victims had nothing to do with Vega being shot earlier.
A third victim, Irvin Rubio, 24, was shot at and beaten with the gun. He ran from the bus stop to call for help. Two hours before, Vega confronted two men, who were ages 23 and 24, at gunpoint and demanded their cellphones at a
Chula Vista apartment. He then returned their cell phones and left.
Chula Vista Police arrested Vega at a storage facility in the 600 block of Anita Street. Fontaine said Vega bought the gun illegally from a friend for $200.
Vega’s attorney, Kerry Armstrong, told the judge Vega had gone on “a 3-day bender” with alcohol, tranquilizers, and cocaine just before the incidents.
Armstrong said Vega was “not in the right frame of mind” and “went out to hunt gang members” whom he believed had shot him.
Vega’s brother, Victor Vega, 28, was shot to death in another unsolved case in the Skyline neighborhood in late May. Andre Vega was unable to attend his brother’s funeral because he was in jail, said Armstrong.
Andre Vega recently married his longtime girlfriend, Heather Rodriguez, who is seven months pregnant. She told Espana “he’s a really good guy and has always taken care of me.”
“He hoped the victims would show up (at the sentencing) because he wanted to tell them how sorry he was,” said Rodriguez.
Vega’s stepfather, Michael Doyle, who is an officer with El Cajon Police, told the judge there was “no excuse” for the shootings and his stepson had remorse.
“Within months, we had a son murdered and a son going to prison,” said Doyle.
The plea agreement specified the sentence would be between 15-20 years. The probation department recommended 18 years and eight months.
Espana said she found differing descriptions of Vega perplexing, saying “It’s like we are talking about two different people.” She acknowledged that Vega was “a hard worker,” but said the motive for the crime was Vega “looking for revenge.”
“20 years is the approximate sentence,” ruled Espana.
She gave him credit for 184 days in jail and fined him $1,294.
Espana recommended the R.J. Donovan State prison since his family lives here.
