A man has been sentenced to life in prison without parole plus 57 years after being convicted of attempted murder of a woman who was shot and left paralyzed at Sunset Cliffs.
Michael Pedraza, now 34, has now arrived at Wasco State Prison recently and is ineligible for parole, according to the California Department of Corrections.
A second jury convicted him of attempted murder causing great bodily injuries, and kidnapping for extortion of Mya Hendrix, who was 19 years old when she was abducted and shot. She was left for dead on April 11, 2018, because she had witnessed a murder by Pedraza’s co-defendants.
Hendrix identified Pedraza as the one who shot her three times and she was in the vehicle when others fatally shot Mario Serhan, 59, earlier that day in Chula Vista. The group decided to kill her because she was a witness, said Deputy District Attorney David Grapilon.
“She had to (testify again), but she did great,” said Grapilon. “We’re all glad it’s done!”
San Diego Superior Court Judge Daniel Goldstein imposed a term of life without the possibility of parole and added 57 years to serve consecutively for other convictions of robbery, assault, and other crimes.
Hendrix testified in both trials that she was taken to the Sunset Cliffs area and forced out of the car at gunpoint in Point Loma. She said she pleaded for her life as she walked down the stairs before being shot in the neck, which caused her paralysis and she now uses a wheelchair.
The first trial occurred a year ago, and she testified in the second trial in August. Co-defendant Cesar Alvarado, now 45, was sentenced to life without parole, and Britney Canal, now 36, is serving a term of 30 years to life in prison for murder.
Alvarado is believed to have shot Serhan in the head while he was driving and he crashed into a storage garage in Chula Vista. According to testimony, the trio suspected Serhan was an undercover police officer because he spoke on a cellphone and they thought he was following them.
Pedraza was also convicted of kidnapping for the robbery of a man whom he beat up and threatened. The man had found Pedraza’s wallet and was trying to return it to him, but Pedraza didn’t believe him at first.
Goldstein gave Pedraza credit for spending about five years in jail while awaiting trial.
