‘I’m not giving up on you’: Judge hands down sentence for Idaho man in shooting
In a courtroom on the third floor of the Canyon County Courthouse, 3rd District Judge Gabriel McCarthy listened as the prosecution and defense painted two very different pictures of Gabriel Francisco Meza.
Canyon County Deputy Prosecutor Gregory Swanson argued Monday that the 35-year-old — convicted of aggravated battery for the shooting of another man — was an extreme danger to the community and asked the judge for a three-decade prison sentence.
Michael Florian, his public defender, portrayed Meza as a family-oriented man who grew up too fast and has dealt with addiction since he was young. He asked for a minimum five-year sentence.
Meza himself asked McCarthy to see “the whole man” before him and not just his worst choices. He said he planned to attend college while serving any sentence and looked forward to finding a job so that he could be an example to his children — that no matter how far you travel down the wrong path, you “can always turn around.”
“You have full discretion, your honor, and I humbly ask you to show mercy to my family,” Meza said, reading from a prepared statement in court.
When Meza is sober or with his family, McCarthy said he sees someone capable of being a good, kind and decent person. But the judge said Meza’s criminal history and actions in March were that of a “completely different person.”
“I understand that there can be good and bad in the same person,” McCarthy said. “I have to consider all those things, the good and the bad, the known and the unknown, and arrive at a conclusion.”
McCarthy sentenced Meza to a minimum of 10 years in prison, with another decade that Meza could spend in prison, on parole or both. He’ll receive credit for the 244 days he’s already spent in the Canyon County Jail.
The incident that led to the shooting took place in the early hours of March 27. Several people, including Meza, got into a fight with the male victim, and during the altercation the victim was shot in the neck, which left him permanently paralyzed.
In statements to the Canyon County Sheriff’s Office, the victim and another woman who was involved in the fracas identified Meza as the shooter, according to a probable cause affidavit.
“I lived a proactive life and now I feel like I’m sitting behind the window watching the whole world go by,” the victim said in court. “The world keeps going and I’m stuck.”
Meza’s attorney argued during a prior hearing that the victim didn’t see who shot him and instead saw Meza carrying the firearm, according to a transcript from a May hearing. Meza’s family also protested his innocence to the Idaho Statesman following the sentencing, and pointed to the fact that several people were involved in the altercation.
In August, Meza entered an Alford plea — which has the same effect as a guilty plea — to felony aggravated battery, and an enhancement for the use of a deadly weapon in the commission of a felony for the shooting of the victim, then 44. An Alford plea is used by a defendant when they recognize that the evidence is stacked against them and they’d likely be convicted, but they don’t admit to the crime.
In exchange for the plea deal, the Canyon County Prosecutor’s Office dropped a persistent violator enhancement, which could have kept Meza in prison for life. That enhancement can be added by prosecutors once someone has been convicted of three felonies, no matter whether they are violent crimes.
“I know that what I’m doing today is going to make it difficult for you — 10 years in prison typically does not make anybody a better person,” McCarthy said. “You will have to fight to achieve your full potential, and it will be a challenge.
“I’m not giving up on you.”
This story was originally published December 2, 2024 at 7:05 PM.
