SAN DIEGO (NEWS 8) — An Escondido gang member, who was convicted of murder earlier this year learned his fate Thursday.
25-year-old Dionicio Torrez Jr. was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the slaying of 55-year-old Cathy Kennedy.
Torrez was convicted in October of first-degree murder for firing shots intended for gang rivals that instead struck and killed Kennedy. She was headed home from Bible study at her church when she was hit by a bullet.
Prosecutors say Torrez fired 12 rounds across a street at gang rivals who were spotted tagging the apartment complex where Torrez lived around 9 p.m. on March 7, 2017.
One of those bullets struck Kennedy in the head as she was driving on eastbound Grand Avenue near Midway Drive.
She later died at a hospital.
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