Santa Cruz | Driver in Mission Street shooting sentenced to prison – Santa Cruz Sentinel

SANTA CRUZ — The driver in a fatal gang shooting on Mission Street, who pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter, was sentenced to prison for “paper commitment.”

Jonathan Lisandro Dominguez, 26, of Soquel, was driving on July 28, 2020, when his passenger, Sergio Alvarez Lopez, leaned over him and fired into another car, striking Juan Antonio Ruiz, 28, in the back of the head, according to court documents. Shortly before the drive-by, Lopez allegedly shouted gang-related slurs and obscenities at Ruiz and his friend when they passed him and Dominguez at an overlook in the nearby town.

Dominguez, who pleaded no contest in October 2022 to additional charges including two counts of assault with serious bodily injury and an enhancement for attempted felony firearm, was released from prison in February 2023. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Dominguez was not released from prison in February 2023. He will be sentenced to more than 20 years in prison. On Thursday, Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge Syda Cogliati sentenced Dominguez to four years in prison for a seven-year sentence due to arguments by Assistant Prosecutor Conor McCormick.