Man sentenced to life plus 10 years in 2022 drive-by shooting death

A judge on Wednesday sentenced Pedro Larringa-Herrera to life plus 10 years in prison in a 2022 shooting that prosecutors said killed a man who was not the intended target of the attack.

A jury in June convicted Larringa-Herrera, 53, of first-degree murder and other charges in the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Daniel Gardner outside a Central Avenue video store.

The first-degree murder conviction requires that Larringa-Herrera serve at least 30 years in prison before he is eligible for parole.

Second Judicial District Judge Cindy Leos added 10 years to his sentence for his convictions on charges of aggravated battery and two counts of attempted tampering with evidence.

Prosecutors told jurors that Larringa-Herrera was shooting from a car at another man when he fatally shot Gardner on Aug. 16, 2022, outside the Pussycat Video at Central and Pennsylvania NE. Gardner died in a hospital about three weeks later.

Prosecutor Emilie Edmonds told jurors at trial that the events that led to Gardner’s shooting began two days earlier with a dispute between Larrenga-Herrera and another man he knew as “Florida.”

On Aug. 14, 2022, Larringa-Herrera shot and injured “Florida” during a dispute outside the Adam Food Market, Edmonds said in opening statements.

Two days later, Gardner was standing with “Florida” and several others outside the video store, which is located across the street from the market, Edmonds said.

Larringa-Herrera’s attorney, Edward Bustamante, told jurors that his client has steadfastly denied his involvement in Gardner’s death.

Prosecutors have no admission of guilt, no weapon and no ballistics evidence to connect Larringa-Herrera to the shooting, Bustamante said.

Prosecutors showed jurors surveillance video that captured the shooting. It showed a white Lincoln Navigator SUV turn onto Pennsylvania before nearly coming to a stop beside the Pussycat Video building.

In the video, the driver appears to lean over the empty passenger seat and fire at a group of men through the open passenger-side window. Gardner was struck by gunfire and ran a short distance toward Central before he collapsed.

Later that day, officers stopped the SUV, which was operated by Larringa-Herrera. Police seized the car and Larringa-Herrera’s cellphone.