The family of Anthony “Tony” San Juan spoke about his “sudden and senseless death” while urging a Santa Barbara County Superior Court judge Wednesday to hand down the maximum sentence to the woman charged with being an accessory after the fatal shooting.
San Juan was fatally shot behind Elmer’s bar in Old Town Orcutt early March 4.
Judge Gustavo Lavayen heard from San Juan’s parents and widow before watching a slideshow depicting pictures from childhood through adulthood as dozens of family and friends nearly filled the Santa Maria courtroom.
Mayra Perez, 29, pleaded no contest in June to being an accessory after the fact. She and her husband, Jonathan Highley, 35, were arrested hours after the shooting, and Highley is accused of fatally shooting San Juan.
Lavayen sentenced Perez to 365 days in jail plus five years probation, adding one more day than the Probation Department recommended, but short of the three-year maximum.
“It’s very clear to me this community lost a wonderful son, husband and father,” Lavayen said. “Like everybody else here, I can’t figure out why this senseless act even occurred.”
The judge added it was difficult to come to terms with Perez’s actions that day.
“I understand Ms Perez has children of her own which makes it even more befuddling as to why she would do what she did,” Lavayen said.
“It’s clear to me she had absolutely no consideration of her own children’s welfare. At some point, it seems to be she knew what was going on. She still proceeded on the path she took that night.”
Since Perez has been in custody, she received 304 days of credits, meaning she has two months, and likely less, left in County Jail.
After allegedly fatally shooting San Juan, Highley made a middle-of-the-night call to his wife in Merced, prompting her to make the 230-mile journey back to Orcutt to their home across the alley behind Elmer’s, according to authorities.
Once there, Perez did laundry and carried a bag containing the murder weapon to their vehicle parked in front of their townhouse, Deputy District Attorney Anne Nudson said.
After being taken into custody, Perez lied to deputies during two interviews before telling the truth during her third session, Nudson added.
Defense attorney David Bixby noted the tragic death of San Juan.
“The whole case makes zero sense,” he said, before arguing for a sentence of 364 days in jail for his client, a mother of four young children with Highley.
Perez, who was not born in the United States, reportedly could face deportation from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“I have no control over that,” Lavayen said regarding the federal issue. “That’s a consequence that may or not happen. I’m not going to speculate.”
Wednesday’s sentencing hearing began with statements from San Juan’s parents, Anthony and Cheryl San Juan.
“I can’t even begin to express the sorrow,” Anthony San Juan said. “Our hearts are broken and we don’t know where to go. The colors have lost the brightness and the world seems gray.
“Our son did not deserve to die a senseless death,” he said, adding the man deserved see his children graduate from high school and college, coach his son, or walk his daughter down the aisle.
He pushed for a maximum sentence, noting it would still last a fraction of the time that he, his wife, daughter-in-law and grandchildren have paid due to Tony San Juan’s death.
“My heart is simply broken, my spirit has been crushed and our lives are forever changed,” his widow Sara San Juan told the judge. “I do not understand how Mayra will walk away from this after such a short time, while our pain and heartache is still so raw.”
“Your honor, my family did not ask for this, yet we are the ones that have the longest sentence imposed upon us — a lifetime without Tony. I am literally begging you to please enforce the maximum sentence of three years on Mayra Perez for her part in this horrific crime. At the very least, I plead that you give her a minimum 365-day sentence.”
The case against Highley, who has pleaded not guilty to murder and assault with a firearm, returns to court Aug. 23 when attorneys will discuss setting a date for preliminary hearing.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
