What’s the correct sentence for an unintentional shooting that killed an adorable 8-year-old? One who was called “Sunni” and was described as a kid with a disposition to match her name?
In the case of David R. Candelaria, 47, convicted of first-degree murder in a jury trial this fall, it was life plus nine years in prison handed down on Thursday.
And the state wants more.
Prosecutor Alex Uballez told 2nd Judicial District Judge Jacqueline Flores that the state will pursue habitual offender “enhancements” to add more time to the sentence in a separate proceeding. The state will be required to show that he’s the same person with prior felony convictions.
Sunni Reza died shortly before her ninth birthday. She had come to town from Artesia to celebrate at Chuck E. Cheese with her family, who had tried to offer alternate venues only to be informed that she planned to celebrate at the pizza parlor even when she was 21.
The shooting occurred after a verbal altercation escalated as Candelaria and his son were leaving Alamosa Community Center in the South Valley, as were four men and the girl in another car.
No one – not the prosecution, the victim’s family, the judge or the defendant’s family – thought Candelaria intended to kill the little girl, who had been told to lie down on the floor of the vehicle she was in as Candelaria fired a warning shot into the air.
Candelaria’s conviction was based on a “depraved mind” theory, meaning it was such a reckless act that it was inevitable someone would be harmed.
Candelaria’s daughter complained at length about a shoddy police investigation and suggested the jury had heard incorrect details from the media – a claim swiftly contradicted by the judge, who said she and the lawyers had taken pains to assure that extraneous details did not reach jurors.
Candelaria’s mother disputed the suggestion that her son’s military experience had made him a gun expert and said he had fired a shot to scare away the other men he perceived as a threat to his son. She said her son was a person who helped people, particularly the homeless.
“I know my son,” she said. “He didn’t try to kill anyone.”
But most of the hearing was taken up by the raw pain of Sunni’s family, whose grief over two years later was almost palpable. Sunni’s family members choked back sobs as they spoke, but the message was clear: Impose the maximum penalty.
A video prepared for the sentencing showed dozens of photos of the girl. Sunni on a water slide; Sunni mugging for the camera with her younger sister and her cousins; Sunni going to her first day of school; Sunni writing “I love you” notes to her grandmothers, which were later found under the bed; Sunni biking down the street with her hair flying behind her in the wind. The photos clipped along to the songs “Angel Baby” and “Time for Me to Fly.”
Adrianna Ramirez, Sunni’s mother, spoke slowly as she asked Flores to consider giving Candelaria life. She said her surviving daughter constantly asks for Sunni, who was always protective of her little sister.
“My heart breaks for you,” Flores said.
