Jury convicts man of second-degree murder in 2022 killing

A jury on Tuesday convicted David Padilla of second-degree murder in the 2022 shooting death of a man in the driveway of a Northeast Heights residence.

Prosecutors told jurors that Padilla, 45, fired at least 13 gunshots at 23-year-old Devlin Rubi as “payback” for an earlier shooting that had injured Padilla.

Jurors rejected the more serious first-degree murder conviction sought by prosecutors. The jury deliberated less than a day following a five-day trial in 2nd Judicial District Court.

Second-degree murder has a basic sentence of 15 years in prison. Judge Clara Moran has not scheduled a sentencing hearing.

Defense attorneys argued that Padilla fired in self-defense, fearing for his life, after Rubi fired three gunshots, striking Padilla in the left leg.

Both defense and prosecuting attorneys agreed that Rubi fired the first shots during an argument between the men in the front yard of a house in the 8000 block of Krim NE, near Paseo del Norte and Wyoming.

The two shootings occurred within minutes on March 5, 2022. Padilla was driven to a hospital and arrested the next day.

Padilla’s attorney, Sarah Pepin, told jurors that after Rubi shot and injured Padilla, Rubi announced to others that he intended to kill Padilla.

Rubi dropped a pistol in the front yard as he walked to his car and Padilla picked it up, Pepin said. Rubi started his car and put it in reverse, she said.

Then Rubi turned off his headlights, which Padilla took as a signal that Rubi planned to begin firing, Padilla testified in his own defense on Monday.

Assistant District Attorney David Waymire told jurors that Padilla retrieved his own firearm after Rubi shot him in the leg.

Padilla unloaded at least 13 rapid gunshots, of which nine struck Rubi in the neck, arm and chest, Waymore said.

Padilla shot Rubi as “payback and revenge from having been shot in the leg,” he told jurors.

An unloaded firearm was found in Rubi’s pocket during an autopsy, Waymire said. Police also found 602 rounds of ammunition in Rubi’s car, he said.