ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY NEWS RELEASE
Case # 13CF1954
Date: January 6, 2017
FULLERTON, Calif. – A man was sentenced today to 35 years to life in state prison for stabbing and murdering an acquaintance after chasing and stalking him before fleeing to Mexico. Mario Alberto Rodriguez, 27, Santa Ana, was found guilty by a jury on Aug. 2, 2016, of one felony count of murder with a sentencing enhancement for the personal use of a knife. Rodriguez’s prior serious felony conviction for possession of a controlled substance for sale for the benefit of a criminal street gang in 2012 in Orange County was also found true.
On March 9, 2013, Rodriguez saw 26-year-old acquaintance Paul Anthony Garcia in front of the defendant’s family’s home in Santa Ana, and chased him on foot. Rodriguez and two associates followed Garcia for a few blocks until he entered the El Chile Picante restaurant on South Main Street. Continue reading