By Mike McHugh
Posted at 11:33 AM
Updated at 1:44 PM

Updated at 1:13 p.m.

An illegal alien will spend the next 16 years behind bars then be deported to Mexico.

Pedro De La O, 51, pleaded guilty to second degree murder and assault with a deadly weapon to inflict serious injury in Onslow County Superior Court Monday before N.C. Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Charles H. Henry. He was sentenced to at least 16 years in prison with a maximum sentence of 20 years, 3 months, with credit for time served in pretrial confinement.

During the 31-minute proceeding, De La O, dressed in dark slacks and a blue short sleeve shirt, stood and sat between his attorney Jacksonville lawyer Billy Joe Morgan and an English to Spanish translator.

De La O was arrested on Dec. 25, 2015 by the Jacksonville Police Department and charged with murder and assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill-inflict serious injury.

De la O shot and killed Jacksonville resident Fernando Alonzo and injured another man after an argument between De La O and Alonzo escalated inside De La O’s Daisy Street home around 10 p.m. on Christmas Eve, according to Assistant District Attorney Jamie Askins.

Askins said De La O went to his bedroom several times during the argument where he stored his gun, and emerged from the room after the second visit with the 9 mm semiautomatic handgun in hand when he discharged two rounds into the ceiling before firing towards Alonzo and the other man.

Askins said all three men were acquaintances who knew one another from their work in area restaurants. Askins said the medical examiner’s report from Alonzo’s autopsy indicated he was shot three times: once in the neck, the chest and his right hand. The medical examiner determined the cause of death to be from “gunshot wounds causing desanguination,” Askins said.

Morgan said the case was a difficult one.

“Pedro is one of the most gentle, nicest persons I’ve spoken with. He’s never been in trouble before, never had a speeding ticket,” he said.

Morgan said De La O entered the United States in 2001 with a properly documented work permit and would send money he earned back home to relatives living in Vera Cruz, Mexico. Morgan said at the time of the shooting, De La O was not here legally.

Three family members — a niece and two cousins — plus a friend of De La O drove from Greensboro Monday morning to be present for the 11 a.m. hearing. Morgan said although he was first assigned as De La O’s court-appointed attorney the family did not want to burden the state of North Carolina with his legal expenses so they retained Morgan for his services.

“Never in all my years has that ever happened,” Morgan said.

The plea arrangement orders De La O to be deported after completion of his sentence.



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A man has pleaded guilty in connection to a fatal Christmas Eve shooting.

Pedro De La O pleaded guilty to second degree murder and assault with a deadly weapon to inflict serious injury.

He was sentenced to at least 16 years in prison with a maximum sentence of 20 years, 3 months.

De La O was arrested on Dec. 25, 2015 by the Jacksonville Police Department and charged with murder and assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill-inflict serious injury.

He is accused of killing Jacksonville resident Fernando Alonzo and injuring another, according to previous reports.

According to warrants, De La O used a 9mm semiautomatic handgun in the shooting.

Alonzo was killed about 10 p.m. Dec. 24, 2015 at De La O’s residence at 166 Daisy St. in Holiday City Mobile Home Park, according to reports at the time.

De La O was indicted on Nov. 16, 2016 and has been held without bond since his arrest in the Onslow County Jail.

De La O was represented by his court-appointed attorney Billy Joe Morgan. The state was represented by Assistant District Attorney Jamie Askins.

http://www.jdnews.com/news/20180129/...s-eve-shooting