SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Marco Flores was just 16 in 2007 when he and a group of friends attended a party in Pacoima, where an argument broke out and one of his friends shot and killed a man who was patting down guests for weapons.
Flores, who said he wasn't involved in the killing but fled the scene, was arrested with two co-defendants and charged with crimes including murder. He agreed to a plea deal with the Los Angeles County district attorney's office to avoid the harshest possible sentence and to avoid going to trial in adult court. But prosecutors can use sentence enhancements to add time, including those allowed under California's "three strikes" law, which was approved by voters in a 1994 ballot measure.
Flores received 11 years for voluntary manslaughter, which was counted as a strike. His deal required him to admit to a separate crime — a robbery in which he was a suspect— that added a second, juvenile strike and doubled his sentence to 22 years. A gun enhancement added another decade. Another serious or violent felony could land Flores, now 30, in prison for the rest of his life.
