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SALT LAKE CITY — A Kearns man was sentenced to life in prison Friday for killing a man during a fight at a Kohl's store in West Valley City.
Jose Angel Gonzalez, 22, was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison for the Aug. 9, 2011, murder of George Davila, 24.
In addition to the sentence for first-degree felony murder, Gonzalez was ordered to serve consecutive terms of one to 15 years for obstructing justice, a second-degree felony, and zero to five years for possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person, a third-degree felony.
Last month, jurors convicted Gonzalez of stabbing Davila seven times with a knife after Davila made a derogatory comment about the gang Dog Town. Police say Davila was a member of a rival gang.
Defense attorneys insisted that Gonzalez was only trying to protect himself, but prosecutors said Gonzalez was the aggressor.
The two men met in the parking lot of the store and an exchange took place. They ended up in the bathroom of the store, where Davila was stabbed six times — three times in the face and three times in the chest.
Davila died at a hospital. Gonzalez was convicted of obstruction for throwing a bloody T-shirt he was wearing down a storm drain.
