Woman forgives estranged mate as he receives 30 years to life

Erica D. Johnson

Tuesday, March 2, 2004 | 10:44 a.m.

A local woman on Monday said she forgave her estranged husband for kidnapping her and arranging the shooting of her 17-year-old sister in 2001.

District Judge Lee Gates sentenced both Pablo Guerrero, 25, and his triggerman, Eriberto Leon, 18, to life in prison with parole possible after 30 years.

"I'm going to give you the chance to have a life again, but you're going to miss the best part of your life," Gates told the men.

Guerrero's wife, Brenda Gallardo, also showed compassion toward her estranged husband, who sat several feet away from her in chains during her testimony.

"We're all human. We all make mistakes," Gallardo said, crying. "We believe in God and he tells us to forgive in order to be forgiven."

Gallardo said the fact that her sister, Sonja Gallardo, survived after being shot in the face was the most important thing to her and her family. Sonja Gallardo attended the hearing but did not testify.

"Having my sister Sonja with us today is more than enough for us to be at peace," Brenda Gallardo said.

Jurors had convicted Guerrero and Leon on first-degree kidnapping, attempted murder and other charges after a trial before Gates. Prosecutors on Monday had argued against parole for the men.

"If this case doesn't deserve a sentence of life without parole, what case does?" Deputy District Attorney Stacy Kollins asked.

Authorities say jealousy sparked the violent crime spree, which began when Guerrrero accused his wife of making cell phone calls to another man. Police said Guerrero had gone to his in-laws home, where Gallardo was staying, with plans of abducting her and take her to Mexico.

Sonja Gallardo told police that when she got out of school Nov. 6, Guerrero was sitting in her parents' van waiting to pick her up. Brenda Gallardo was tied up inside the van. Guerrero drove the siblings back to the parents' home, where Leon was waiting.

Prosecutors say Leon ordered Sonja Gallardo up the stairs and put a blanket over the teen's face before shooting her. Leon later claimed his older cohort had ordered him to pull the trigger.

Guerrero fled in a van with his wife and was caught after police spotted him on Interstate 15 near Victorville, Calif. Leon had fled the home in another car and was later arrested in Las Vegas.

Leon's attorney, Pete Christiansen, had argued for a more lenient sentence for his client. He called the sentence of 30 years to life in prison "overkill," considering his client's young age.

"They've already taken the last two years of his childhood," Christiansen said.

But Kollins said Leon shot Sonja Gallardo "with the sophistication of a grown hit man."

"His quote to Sonja was, 'It's only business,' before he shot her in the face," she said.

Kollins added that careful planning had gone into the operation. The men had gone to Wal-Mart and purchased rope, gloves, and other tools to carry out their plan, she said.

Christiansen and Guerrero's attorney, David Amesbury, said their clients had taken full responsibility for their crimes. The men would have pleaded guilty to the charges, but prosecutors refused to negotiate a plea deal, the lawyers said.

"We would've agreed to anything had there been something offered that was reasonable," Amesbury said.

Gallardo, who avoided eye contact with her husband during her brief testimony, said the man she knew and loved was not the cold-hearted prosecutors described.

"For a long time he was a loving husband to me and a loving father to our two little boys," she said.