Man found guilty in Nampa Buffalo Wild Wings shooting given 50-year sentence
A man who shot and killed a bystander in 2022 outside a Nampa Buffalo Wild Wings during what police said was a gang dispute was sentenced Friday to up to 50 years in prison.
Third Judicial District Judge Gabriel McCarthy sentenced Brian Moreno, 25, after a Canyon County jury found him guilty of first-degree murder for the shooting of Joe Flores, 25, of Caldwell.
Moreno will serve 30 years in prison before he’s eligible for parole, according to court records.
Moreno, along with six other people were charged with various crimes related to the shooting. Moreno was charged with first-degree murder, rioting and an added enhancement for gang activity. The rioting charge was dropped by the Canyon County Prosecutor’s Office.
The Nampa Police Department stated in a press release after the incident that Flores was “an innocent bystander, caught in the crossfire” of what they believed was a gang dispute.
The Nampa Police Department responded on Sept. 1, 2022, to a report of a shooting at a business in the 2100 block of North Cassia Street where they found Flores in the parking lot with gunshot wounds. They performed life-saving measures, but Flores died at the scene.
According to court documents, a cellphone video showed members of two gangs in the Buffalo Wild Wings parking lot. In the video, one person could be heard calling out derogatory names, and another person told Moreno to get a gun before three shots rang out.
Canyon County Prosecutor Chris Boyd requested a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole, according to the office’s release
“Give them the certainty that this will never happen again,” Boyd said. “Not in our community, and not on our watch.”
Moreno’s defense attorney, Jay Kiiha, requested the possibility of parole after 20 years, according to the release. Moreno declined to address the court.
Members of the Flores family addressed the court Friday, describing the loss they felt after the death of Flores, the prosecutor’s office stated in a news release.
“This man ruined our lives, for the rest of our lives… imagine, Your Honor, how we feel,” Flores’ father said.
The others charged in the shooting have pending cases.
Lazaro Vela, 18, of Nampa, was charged with attempted first-degree murder and rioting. Pedro Navarro Jr., 21, of Caldwell, was charged with aiding and abetting first-degree murder, rioting and aiding and abetting aggravated assault. The first two charges were dismissed, and he pleaded guilty to the third. He will be sentenced on June 17.
Three other men — ages 19, 21 and 24 — faced lesser charges in the case.
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