On Feb. 5, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Rozlynn Silvaggio sentenced two men for the fatal shooting of 29-year-old divinity student Isamaeli Mata’afa on Telegraph Avenue in 2022.
According to police accounts, Mata’afa was with a group of family members in the early hours of Oct. 8, 2022 when they got into an argument with Andy Gutierrez-Rebollo and Michael Monrroy-Ramos.
The two men then repeatedly shot at the group, injuring Mata’afa and several of his family members. Mata’afa was transported to Highland Hospital in Oakland, where he was later pronounced dead.
Gutierrez-Rebollo and Monrroy-Ramos were arrested a few weeks later. According to the initial complaint filed Nov. 28, 2022, they were both charged with Mata’afa’s murder and three counts each of the attempted murder of Mata’afa’s family members.
According to court testimony reported by The Berkeley Scanner, police were neither able to recover the firearms used in the altercation nor determine who fired the fatal shot.
Gutierrez-Rebollo took a plea deal that was presented in a Jan. 7, 2026, disposition, where he pled no contest to voluntary manslaughter and assault with a firearm; he admitted to “special alleged use” of a firearm and “circumstance in aggravation.” Monrroy-Ramos also took a plea deal in which he pleaded no contest to assault with a firearm and admitted to the same two charges as Gutierrez-Rebollo.
The rest of the men’s charges were dismissed by the court at a Feb. 5 disposition pursuant to negotiated plea deals. Both men will serve their sentences at the San Quentin Rehabilitation Center; Gutierrez-Rebollo was sentenced to 14 years, while Monrroy-Ramos was sentenced to eight.
Mata’afa, known affectionately as “Eli,” moved to the United States as a teenager and was the primary breadwinner of his family, according to a GoFundMe page established by his sister in 2022 to pay for his funeral expenses. Prior to his passing, Mata’afa was pursuing a master of divinity at the Pacific School of Religion, or PSR.
According to an article by PSR, Mata’afa was a youth leader for the Samoan Congregational Christian Church of Oakland and led weekly church food banks and neighborhood cleanups. Mata’afa also helped provide Samoan youth with opportunities and resources within the Bay Area. The school has since named a community garden after him, the article added.
“Eli was a deeply loved member of our community at Pacific School of Religion,” said Jacob Perez, PSR’s senior communications director in a statement. “He was a gifted student, a person of profound faith, and a compassionate leader committed to youth, family, and the well-being of the Pacific Islander community and the wider world. His life and calling continue to shape our community, and his loss remains profoundly felt.”