Antonio Mendoza Chavez Jr., 37, was sentenced to life in prison Friday for the 2020 first-degree murder of a Dinuba man, whom he shot after accusing his girlfriend of infidelity. (Tulare County DA)
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A Tulare County man has been sentenced to life in prison on Friday for the 2020 shooting death of a man in Dinuba, the Tulare County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement.
Antonio Mendoza Chavez Jr., 37, was sentenced in Tulare County Superior Court following his August 2024 conviction for first-degree murder with a special allegation of firearm use.
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The shooting occurred on Aug. 14, 2020, after Chavez, who had recently reconciled with his girlfriend, became enraged upon learning she had stayed at a friend’s home during their brief breakup.
Authorities said Chavez spent the day obtaining and test-firing a .22 AR-15 rifle before forcing his girlfriend to accompany him to the friend’s Dinuba-area residence, where he shot the man once through the eye.
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Chavez and his girlfriend later returned north, where he burned their clothes and the car’s tires. He was arrested on Sept. 4, 2020, in the Sultana area following a brief vehicle chase.
Under California law, Chavez must serve 25 years before becoming eligible for parole, prosecutors said.
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