A 28-year-old man pleaded no contest Monday to gunning down a man, who tried to sell him a gold necklace for $2,000 in Montebello in 2015, and he was immediately sentenced to 41 years to life in prison for first-degree murder and second-degree robbery.
Sean Matthew Garcia was ordered to return to court July 5 for a restitution hearing stemming from the death of 28-year-old Brian Lee Gomez, who Garcia shot in the head with an assault rifle about 6:30 p.m. Sept. 28, 2015, in the 1600 block of Neil Armstrong Street.
Gomez was killed in front of his wife, who had gone with him to sell the gold chain, authorities said.
The murder charge included a special circumstance allegation of murder during the commission of an attempted robbery.
The robbery count was related to the theft of an assault rifle in August.
Police said Gomez posted an ad on OfferUpNow.com for the gold chain and arranged with Garcia to meet. Garcia ambushed him, showing up with the rifle, chased Gomez down and fired twice at his feet. When Gomez stopped and reached into his pocket to pull out the chain, Garcia shot him. Gomez died at the scene.
A search of Garcia’s home turned up parts of the murder weapon and the OfferUpNow website helped lead investigators to the victim of the firearm theft, which had not previously been reported.
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