Santa Rosa Man Sentenced To 39 Years-To-Life in Prison For Point-Blank Shooting in Residential Neighborhood

Defendant Jose Figueroa Baltazar, 30-years-old of Santa Rosa, was sentenced today by the Honorable Troye K. Shaffer to serve 39 years-to-life in state prison after being convicted by a jury in April of premeditated attempted murder, shooting into an occupied vehicle, and assault with a firearm. On the day of trial, Baltazar pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. Therefore, the jury did not consider those charges. The defendant’s sentence also included a sentencing enhancement for a prior “strike” conviction.

District Attorney Carla Rodriguez stated, “This was an inexplicable act of violence. The callousness with which Mr. Baltazar nearly ended another young person’s life, ultimately paralyzing him, is impossible to understand. He clearly is a dangerous individual that belongs in state prison.”

The charges resulted from an incident on May 22, 2022, during which the defendant and victim were with a mutual friend drinking beer. At some point during the evening, Baltazar got out of the driver’s seat of his vehicle, opened the rear driver’s-side door, where the victim was seated, and shot him once through the neck and spinal cord. A neighbor’s Ring Camera captured the shooting, as well as the defendant subsequently dragging the victim out of his vehicle and driving over the victim while fleeing the scene. Baltazar was arrested approximately 20 minutes later by Santa Rosa Police Officers after a short foot pursuit.

During a subsequent interview, after being shown the surveillance video, the defendant admitted to “snapping” and shooting the victim. When asked what set him off, Baltazar said it was because the victim was “playfully” slapping the defendant’s shoulder and touching his knee. The defendant also admitted to discarding the unregistered 9mm firearm he used to shoot the victim, which was found the following day, along with an extended 30-round magazine. Following the shooting, the 29-year-old victim spent months in the hospital and was ultimately diagnosed as quadriplegic.

In asking for the maximum possible sentence, the People noted that in addition to the heinous nature of the crime, the defendant expressed an extremely cavalier attitude about what he had done. When probation inquired why Baltazar was even in possession of the loaded illegally obtained firearm he used to shoot the victim, Baltazar simply stated that, “people think it's cool,” and “it’s just a thing to me.”

The case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Matt Hobson assisted by District Attorney Investigator Stephen Bussell. Sergeant Matthew White of the Santa Rosa Police Department headed the criminal investigation.

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