SAN ANTONIO – A man was sentenced Thursday to 40 years in prison in connection with the shooting death of a nursing student during a botched robbery.
Kevin Luna was originally charged with capital murder when he was arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of Patrick Zavala.
According to an arrest warrant affidavit, Luna and Derrick Sentmore met with Zavala in a parking lot in the 6700 block of Ingram Road on Jan. 3., 2022. The two suspects got into Zavala’s pickup truck and tried to rob him, shooting him once, police said.
Zavala managed to drive away but crashed into a concrete wall. He was taken to a hospital, where he died.
The affidavit states that surveillance video showed two males exiting Zavala’s vehicle after the crash and running off with his cell phone.
Police said it’s unclear why Zavala and the suspects met up, but don’t believe Zavala knew the pair prior to the incident.
Luna accepted a plea deal on a lesser charge of murder and was sentenced by 187th District Court Judge Stephanie Boyd.
According to court records, a capital murder charge against Sentmore was dismissed before it went to a grand jury for indictment.