The gunman who fatally shot a man at a Pacific Beach house was sentenced on Jan. 10 to 27 years in prison and two others also received prison terms.
Carlos Yslas, 25, got 27 years for firing two shotgun blasts at Marcanthony Mendivil, 44, on Dec. 29, 2018 in a home in the 2300 block of Wilbur Avenue.
Also sentenced Friday to eight years in prison was Pedro “Lefty” Ramirez, 28, by San Diego Superior Court Judge Fred Link.
Paul Charles Weinberger, 51, received three years in prison when he was sentenced Jan. 8. Freddie Sosa, 38, was sentenced to eight years on Nov. 15.
“What a convoluted situation this was,” said San Diego Superior Court Judge Fred Link.
Weinberger was renting the Pacific Beach house and let Mendivil stay there temporarily, but the landlord had threatened to evict him for having too many people there and parties.
“Various hangers-on people began attaching themselves to Mr. Weinberger, all exploiting his generosity,” said his attorney, Paul Pfingst.
Drug trafficking and sex-related parties began occurring at the home, according to documents filed by attorneys and the prosecutor.
Weinberger offered to pay $400 to Yslas and Ramirez if they would “remove” Mendivil from the premises, but he did not want Mendivil killed.
Around 2 a.m., Weinberger let Yslas and Ramirez into the house wearing masks, and Yslas walked inside Mendivil’s bedroom. Yslas pulled a shotgun on Mendivil, and when he made a furtive movement with his hand, he was shot twice.
“(Yslas) made a very, very bad choice to get involved in this incident,” said his attorney, Kristen Haden, adding that Mendivil was reaching for a knife when Yslas shot him.
Haden described the scenario as “a strange factual case.”
Yslas’ mother and several other relatives with tears in the eyes bid farewell to him, saying “love you,” before he was led away by a deputy sheriff.
Deputy District Attorney Flavio Nominati said Yslas was paroled from prison only nine days before this incident. He was serving a sentence for residential burglary, and it is not clear Weinberger knew that.
“The conduct here shows extreme criminality,” said Link.
Sosa was also living with Weinberger, but punched him and gave him a black eye when he learned Weinberger had dated a woman Sosa had previously dated, according to court documents. Weinberger then paid for Sosa to live at a La Jolla hotel.
“This case was a total freak show,” said Link.
A murder charge was dropped against all four men. Yslas pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and admitted personal use of the shotgun. He received 12 years for manslaughter plus 10 years for using a gun. Link then added five years for having a prior conviction.
Both Ramirez and Sosa pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and assault with a deadly weapon. Weinberger pleaded guilty to assault with a deadly weapon.
Weinberger had worked as a corporate recruiter and had no prior record, said Pfingst. He had been free on $1 million bond but was remanded into custody Jan. 8 to start his three-year term.
Weinberger only had 53 days credit in jail while the others all received credits for the last year in jail. Everyone was fined $1,424 each.