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Aug 02, 2008 10:13

SAN FRANCISCO
74 years to life for killing outside of club

Jaxon Van Derbeken

Saturday, August 2, 2008

A San Francisco judge reduced a Richmond man's conviction to second-degree murder Friday in a 2005 shooting outside a nightclub, and sentenced him to 74 years to life in prison.

Gerry Phongboupha, 25, was charged with murder and attempted murder in the March 21, 2005, shootings outside the Cafe Cocomo nightclub in the Potrero district that killed 21-year-old Justin Mendoza of Daly City and wounded five others. A jury convicted him of first-degree murder in April.

Phongboupha was stoic during the emotionally charged hearing before Superior Court Judge Jerome Benson, who explained that he had concluded the defendant acted rashly and without planning, thus meriting a second-degree murder conviction.

First-degree murder requires a finding that the killer acted with premeditation.

Phongboupha was part of a large group of partygoers who spilled out of the club at 650 Indiana St. around 2 a.m. He allegedly fired five shots from a handgun after a dispute broke out with others outside the club.

Benson said evidence showed Phongboupha had fired into the ground first and ultimately shot at people when the weapon recoil forced his hand up.

The victim's father, Eddie Mendoza, addressed the defendant, calling him "evil" and proclaiming: "You are as guilty as sin, Gerry Phongboupha!"

The victim's mother, Denise Mendoza, wept as she spoke while flanked by enlarged of photos of her son.

She told Phongboupha to look at the pictures; he appeared to avert his eyes, but family members said later that he had glanced at the photos.

"He's going to die in prison; he's going to rot in prison," Denise Mendoza said as she passed Phongboupha's relatives in the back of the courtroom after he was sentenced.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/08/02/BA1N12445A.DTL

This article appeared on page B - 3 of the San Francisco Chronicle
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