Price of a mistake: A woman killed, a man sent to prison for 44 years to life

A Fresno man who opened fired on a car and killed a woman when he mistakenly believed he was about to be the victim of a drive-by shooting was sentenced Monday to 44 years to life in prison.

Eladio Zambrano, 36, wept openly as Fresno County Superior Court Judge Arlan Harrell imposed the sentence.

Harrell added extra time as required by law, but said he would not have reduced the sentence even if he could have.

“He is a serious danger to society,” Harrell said.

Zambrano could have behaved in a more rational manner the night of the homicide, Harrell said. He also rejected letters by family members that the shooting was out of character.

But after the hearing, Linden Lindhal, Zambrano’s defense attorney, said, “We truly believe in this instance Mr. Zambrano, in his mind, was protecting his family.” He said he would appeal the case.

In the early morning hours of April 19, 2017, Zambrano fired a shotgun more than once at the car coming toward his home.

Zambrano told police he thought the car was being driven by a man he’d gotten into a dispute with hours earlier who had who pulled out a knife, and that the man had returned to try to kill him in a drive-by shooting.

But it turned out the car was being driven by his brother’s girlfriend, Sierra Berg, 23, of Fresno, who was driving to the Zambrano home in the 4700 block of East Hedges Avenue near Chestnut and Olive avenues. She was hit in the head and died.

Prosecutors called it first-degree murder, but in November the jury opted for second-degree murder.

The jury also found Zambrano guilty of shooting at an occupied vehicle, being a felon in possession of a sawed-off shotgun and ammunition, assault with a firearm, and shooting a gun in a negligent manner.

Second-degree murder is punishable by a 15-years-to-life sentence, but under the state’s “use a gun and you’re done” law, the sentence is automatically extended by 25 years to life. The judge also gave Zambrano an additional four years for assault with a firearm.

This story was originally published December 18, 2017 at 2:35 PM with the headline "Price of a mistake: A woman killed, a man sent to prison for 44 years to life."