Man convicted of murder for shooting woman at truck stop in Sacramento County
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- A Sacramento County jury found Quentin Raynal Respers guilty of second-degree murder.
- Prosecutors said Respers shot Abrina Grabriella Abraham at a Natomas truck stop.
- Respers is scheduled to be sentenced on June 26, in Sacramento Superior Court.
A Sacramento County jury found a man guilty of second-degree murder in the shooting death of a woman who had met with him at a Natomas truck stop to discuss their previous romantic relationship.
The jury on Friday convicted Quentin Raynal Respers, 36, of shooting Abrina Gabriella Abraham at the truck stop near Interstate 80 in unincorporated Natomas, the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office announced Monday in a news release.
Prosecutors said Respers was also convicted of being a felon in possession of a gun, along with enhancement to the murder charge for using a firearm in the crime.
The shooting was reported about 3:45 a.m. June 24, 2022, at the travel plaza in the 2800 block of El Centro Road, west of Interstate 5 and just north of I-80.
Sacramento County sheriff’s officials have said that Respers was an employee at the truck stop and was on duty when the deadly shooting occurred.
Prosecutors said Abraham, 38, of Sacramento met Respers at the 49er Travel Plaza truck stop to discuss their previous romantic relationship. After some type of “verbal excghange” between the two, Respers pulled out a gun that had been tucked in his waistband and fired two shots at Abraham, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Deputies responding to the reported shooting found Abraham wounded on the floor of the general store. Abraham, who is also listed as Abrina Grabriella Wheeler in Sacramento County coroner records, was taken by ambulance to a hospital where she died hours later.
Sheriff’s officials have said Respers was on probation at the time of the shooting for a 2017 conviction for possessing an unregistered firearm with ammunition, as well as possessing a concealed gun in a vehicle. His probation was set to expire in 2023.
Before deputies arrived, Respers left the truck stop. Prosecutors said deputies found Respers later and arrested him. The fatal shooting was captured on video security cameras. Investigators never found the gun used in the shooting.
Respers on Monday remained in custody at the Sacramento County Main Jail. His sentencing hearing is scheduled on June 26 in Sacramento Superior Court. Prosecutors said Respers faces a maximum sentence of 43 years to life in prison.
