A man was sentenced to life in prison Tuesday for the 2023 shooting death of a man in a wheelchair at a convenience store in Visalia, prosecutors said.

The Tulare County District Attorney’s Office said Carlos Ayala, 32, must serve 25 years before becoming eligible for parole.

On April 8, 2023, Visalia police responded to a shooting at a local store where the victim, an adult man who frequently visited the store in a wheelchair, had been shot five times.

He later died at a hospital.

Witnesses directed police to a nearby home where Ayala was seen fleeing. Officers detained him after he became uncooperative.

A search of the home turned up a firearm and ammunition matching casings at the scene.

Investigators later learned there was a history of conflict between Ayala, his family, and the victim. Ayala pleaded no contest to second-degree murder with the use of a firearm on Aug. 19.

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