The Orange County District Attorneys Office dropped murder charges against 30 year old Pedro Ignacio Amarillas Lares, a parolee with an extensive criminal history who shot a man in crowded Hart Park on August 4th of this year.
Investigators determined that the evidence showed that the shooting of 36-year-old Luis Alberto Cortes Mendoza was in self defense, and the case could not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
Amarillas Lares instead pled guilty to possession of a gun and ammunition by a felon and was sentenced to four years in prison by Orange County Superior Court Judge Michael Perez on Thursday.
At the time of the shooting Amarillas Lares was already on parole for possession of a loaded gun and a controlled substance.
