Inset: News footage of Christine Sanchez in court on Dec. 28, 2017 (KSNV). Background: News footage of the scene in Las Vegas, Nev., where three people were fatally shot on Dec. 22, 2017 (KSNV).
A Nevada woman has avoided the death penalty after pleading guilty to killing three of her roommates.
Christine Sanchez, 56, learned her fate at the Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, on June 4, more than eight years after she was arrested for gunning down three of her roommates at the home they shared on Dec. 22, 2017. According to reporting by local NBC affiliate KSNV at the time, the Las Vegas Metro Police Department said Sanchez was engaged in an ongoing argument with Cardell Jones, Natasha Henry, and Stanley Herring Jr.
The final verbal altercation they had culminated in Sanchez retrieving a handgun and executing all three of her roommates before fleeing the scene.
According to courtroom reporting by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, prosecutors said Sanchez shot Jones first, then emptied her weapon at Herring. After she reloaded, she chased Henry into a bedroom and shot her multiple times. Sanchez then shot Herring again.
KSNV reported at the time that Las Vegas police were familiar with the home Sanchez shared with several people. While the house on Del Santos Drive was referred to by police as a "flop" house, they did not believe Sanchez's actions were related to any gang or drug activity.
Two women fled the house when the shooting began, and other people were in the house when Sanchez opened fire. After the shooting, Sanchez ran to a nearby neighborhood, where she was arrested without incident.
Sanchez pleaded guilty to three counts of murder with a deadly weapon in April.
Before learning her sentence, Sanchez addressed the judge in court, saying, "Your honor, due to the lifestyle I was living at the time and my interactions with the victims, I'd like you to know I was in fear for my life and the life of my loved ones. That may not be justified, that may not justify my actions, but as a single mother, it is what I felt was necessary at the time."
District Judge Tierra Jones sentenced Sanchez to 25 to 70 years in prison, with credit for time served.