- Miguel Zamora-Bonilla, 24, was sentenced to 15 years to life for murder.
- He shot Luis Cardenas three times on Dec. 29, 2022, while the man was sleeping in a home both lived in, police said.
- Prosecutors claimed the killing was planned and drugs were a factor. Zamora-Bonilla's family said he was affected by autism and schizophrenia.
SALT LAKE CITY — A man was sentenced to prison on Monday, three and a half years after shooting and killing a man living with him while the man was sleeping.
Third District Judge Vernice Trease sentenced Miguel Zamora-Bonilla to 15 years to life in prison for murder, a first-degree felony.
The man told police after the killing that he woke up and "had a bad feeling" at around 3 a.m. on Dec. 29, 2022, according to charging documents, and believed his housemate was the cause.
Luis Alberto Cardenas, 21, was shot three times by Zamora-Bonilla while in his bed in the basement of the West Valley City home, police said. Cardenas was renting a room and was a friend and co-worker of Zamora-Bonilla's father, who also lived there.
Zamora-Bonilla, 24, apologized to Cardenas' family and the community before being sentenced, saying his apologies won't alleviate the family's pain.
"I feel remorseful knowing Luis can no longer spend holidays and birthdays with loved ones. I regret not seeking help for my paranoia and lack of reality that I was experiencing," he said.
Zamora-Bonilla pleaded guilty with a mental condition on April 27 to murder, a first-degree felony, under a plea deal that dismissed two charges for felony discharge of a firearm, one a first-degree felony and the other a second-degree felony, in addition to obstruction of justice, a second-degree felony.
Deputy Salt Lake County attorney Vincent Meister said the killing did not occur as part of a dispute but was premeditated. He claimed Zamora-Bonilla "staged a scene" by walking through the snow throughout the neighborhood and making it appear as if there had been a home invasion.
Afterward, he said Zamora-Bonilla discarded clothing and dismantled the firearm, throwing pieces in different areas.
"Those actions show a very deliberate cognitive individual," Meister said.
Meister said the man confessed to his father and to the police after the killing.
"This case was just senseless, and prison is the appropriate sentence," he said.
Meister said both psychological reports also mention that he was using THC at the time of the killing. He said Cardenas had not threatened Zamora-Bonilla. Meister explained Cardenas was taken in by Zamora-Bonilla's father and that Zamora-Bonilla may have been jealous of the attention Cardenas was getting.
Zamora-Bonilla's attorney, Brenda Viera, said two psychological reports show he has autism spectrum disorder, and one of them shows he has indications of schizophrenia. She said those two disorders were affecting him at the time of the killing, and his paranoia was increasing, but he had not yet sought help.
She said he has been "very frank in taking responsibility for this offense" and has sought out treatment while in jail. Viera said her client has support from family who are aware of his mental illnesses.
"This was really a devastating blow to this family who had worked so hard for all of their lives to support and help each other, and that still continues on," Viera said.
Zamora-Bonilla's father, Louis Zamora, apologized at the sentencing to the victims, the community and to his son through a translator. He talked about a previous hesitancy to believe in the need for mental health care and his motivation to change.
"I feel guilty as a father for not taking care of my children in the healthiest way, listening to the doctors," he said.
