Left: Demarcus Jaime Vega (Fresno County Jail). Right: Lorenzo Perez (Fresno police).
A California man will spend more than two decades behind bars for shooting a popular food vendor dead while pretending to be a potential customer.
Demarcus Jaime Vega, 23, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the shooting death of 45-year-old Lorenzo Perez, according to the Fresno County District Attorney's Office. He was sentenced on Thursday to 25 years to life in prison.
Vega was 18 years old on March 21, 2021. While riding a scooter in the area of South Price and East Alta avenues, he spotted Perez, who was pulling his food cart around on his bicycle. Perez stopped when Vega flagged him down.
The two spoke briefly and Vega pretended that he was going to place an order. That's when Vega pulled out a gun from his pocket and shot Perez in the head. Vega rifled through Perez's pockets before fleeing.
First responders arrived on scene and found Perez on the ground. They rushed him to a hospital where he died. Cops identified Vega as the suspect by talking to witnesses and viewing surveillance footage. He was arrested four days later. Robbery was the motive.
Perez was a well-known food vendor who "served families across southeast Fresno," prosecutors said. His oldest son called his father "a proud, hardworking man" whose family was his "pride and joy."
"Demarcus Jaime Vega didn't just end the life of a human that day, he took the rest of our lives with him and altered them," Perez's son said.
Prosecutors told the Fresno Bee that Vega suffers from some intellectual disabilities, which sparked a delay in the case as the defendant underwent a mental health evaluation.
His attorney Jamil Nushwat said in an interview with the newspaper that he believed his client received a fair sentence.
"I can honestly say that he has shown a significant amount of remorse," Nushwat said. "And he's shown me a significant amount of growth. He is interested in rehabilitation."
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