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Man Gets 10 Years For Double Slaying

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By TOM BRENNAN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 16, 2009

TAMPA - Freddie Vasquez II was sentenced to 10 years in prison today after pleading guilty to killing two men during what prosecutors say was a gang-related dispute in 2006.

Vasquez, 21, pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter in connection with the Feb. 20, 2006, shootings of Michael Roberts, 20, and Sebastian Luengas, 16.

Hillsborough County Circuit Judge William Fuente imposed the prison term and also placed Vasquez on five years of probation when he is released from custody.

Vasquez admitted to firing a shotgun into a group of rivals who had circled his house in their car, gotten out and were pelting it with rocks.

The victims' families told the judge of their loss.

"The people who did this have totally turned our lives upside down," said Katherine Delgato, Robert's mother. "They can go see their sons in prison. We have to go to a grave site."

Her daughter, Heather Austin, echoed the sentiments.

"The day will come when God will sentence him the way he should be sentenced," she said.

Along with Vasquez, authorities say Brian Lima, 21, fired a shotgun that February night into the group of people. Lima was sentenced to 50 years in prison in September 2006. A jury found him guilty of manslaughter. He was also convicted of seven counts of aggravated assault.

"It was a good resolution for both sides," Prosecutor Barbara Coleman said of the plea.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys were in the midst of picking a jury when the possibility of a plea arose. Negotiations continued throughout the morning.

Defense attorneys had been arguing Vasquez fired in self defense, defending himself and his home. They contended he had fired in the air.

Vasquez said nothing about the incident when pleading guilty.

Authorities said Lima and Vasquez hung around with a group that called itself the Bloods, though it was not affiliated with the infamous Los Angeles-based street gang. The victims were associated with a group in Town 'N Country called the TNC Boys.

Prosecutors in Lima's trial said a group of Bloods drove past a TNC Boys hangout and yelled taunts and Roberts fired a .38-caliber handgun at the car.

Later that night, a group of the TNC Boys headed to Vasquez's home.

Prosecutors said the incidents on Feb. 20, 2006, were a carryover of a rumble that broke out at a school fair two days earlier.

Two months after the shooting, then-U.S. Attorney Alberto Gonzales came to Tampa to bestow a $2.5 million grant to fight gang violence in the area.

Families of those involved denied any gang involvement.

Reporter Tom Brennan can be reached at (813) 259-7698 or tbrennan@tampatrib.com.

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