Man guilty of murder in 2016 shooting following argument over loud Sacramento house party
A Sacramento man was convicted Tuesday of second-degree murder in the death of a neighbor, who was fatally shot in 2016 during an argument over a loud house party.
Mario Junior Garcia, 19 at the time of the shooting, was found guilty by jury of second-degree murder in the death of 27-year-old Talanoa Feinga. The jury trial started this August, more than three years after the fatal shooting in the Valley Hi neighborhood on Aug. 8, 2016, court records show.
After calling 911 to report the house party, Feinga had approached Garcia to speak to him about the noise level, and an argument ensued, according to a news release Wednesday by the Sacramento County District Attorney’s office.
Without warning, Garcia then pulled out a gun and shot Feinga in the chest three times, the news release said. Feinga returned to his home and family members attempted medical aid until emergency responders could transport him to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Garcia fled the scene, but surrendered to law enforcement about 36 hours later.
Feinga’s father, his wife and his brother told The Bee at the time of Garcia’s August 2016 arraignment that the family had had problems with loud parties at the Garcia house for several weeks, including an incident in which gunshots fired at the party struck their home. The DA’s news release confirms that account, saying a shooting outside the Garcia home during a July 17, 2016, party resulted in one bullet going through Feinga’s living room and into his wall, while four other bullets hit cars in front of the victim’s home.
“The victim (Feinga) reported this to law enforcement and confronted Garcia about the damage to the victim’s house,” the news release said. “Garcia agreed to pay for some of the damage but never followed through.”
Feinga’s brother, Chris Moran, said in 2016 that police showed “no interest in caring about the situation.”
The DA’s news release says Garcia was “behaving recklessly in the neighborhood” prior to the fatal shooting, adding that the party on the night of the shooting had about 100 people in attendance.
Garcia faces up to 40 years to life in prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 13.
