During a tense hearing and after hours of delays, a convicted killer learned his sentence on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Jose Contreras will now serve 25 years to life in prison for murdering his ex-girlfriend, Zoe Salinas, in 2023.<\/p>\n
“It’s hard for me to talk about what this has done to me,” Salinas’ sister, Savannah, said as she remembered their bond.<\/p>\n
Salinas was 18 when investigators say her ex took someone else’s gun, loaded it, and then shot her in a car.<\/p>\n
“I’m not here today to give forgiveness but to speak the truth, and the truth is Zoe was not yours to take,” Salinas’ aunt, Laura, said.<\/p>\n
She wanted to set the record straight.<\/p>\n
“The truth is Zoe broke him with her words, and he couldn’t handle it,” she said. “Zoe was done with him, and instead of being a man or acting like an adult, he responded in a cowardly, pathetic, weak – like a weak little boy.”<\/p>\n
The comments from the victim’s loved ones — and later prosecutors — all led to a response from the defense attorney.<\/p>\n
“There are many underlying facts, which were not mentioned by the people, which are well within their knowledge and they know to be proven,” defense attorney Roger Bonakdar said.<\/p>\n
His client, Contreras, pleaded no contest to murder last month and offered a full apology on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
But as his sentencing was set to begin Wednesday morning, delays plagued the hearing. Attorneys huddled in the courtroom for hours, appearing to work out final details.<\/p>\n
The judge later said Contreras’ sentence is fitting.<\/p>\n
“The most I can do is sentence Mr. Contreras in such a way that he understands that his life is not being taken away, but a large chunk of it is,” Fresno County Superior Court Judge Arlan Harrell said.<\/p>\n
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