Man pleads second-degree murder, gets 15 years to life in prison – The Vacaville Reporter

A 20-year-old man who withdrew a plea to first-degree murder and instead pleaded no contest to second-degree murder was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison in Solano County Superior Court last month.

Kaulana Kelii Aalona, ​​who entered his initial plea in March, entered his revised plea in Ward 11 of the Justice Center in Fairfield on Aug. 23. By pleading “no contest,” he admitted no guilt but essentially stated that he would not offer a defense.

As part of the plea agreement with Assistant District Attorney Eric Charm, who led the prosecution, and Aalona's defense attorney, Assistant Public Defender Dan Messner, the defendant admitted to using a firearm in the shooting in Vallejo on February 18, 2022. Aalona also pleaded not guilty to that charge.

Judge William J. Pendergast immediately found Aalona guilty on both counts. Because of the latter, the judge was required to add three years to Aalona's prison sentence during the morning hearing.

According to online court records, the judge had previously dismissed the charge of shooting into an inhabited dwelling or vehicle – a felony – as well as an aggravated charge of discharging a firearm.

The judge awarded Aalona $600 in court costs and ordered him to pay $7,500 in restitution. Victim impact statements were read.

Aalona's initial non-contender plea came after Thomas Maas, a Fairfield criminal defense attorney who originally represented Aalona, ​​had previously signaled to Pendergast that his client was considering changing his plea.

During a preliminary hearing in April 2023, Charm called Vallejo Police Detective Jordon Patzer to the witness stand.

Patzer testified that he responded to a 911 call around 1 p.m. on February 18 that reported that the driver of a vehicle had suffered a gunshot wound and had crashed his vehicle into another in the 100 block of Olympic Drive.

Upon arrival, Patzer confirmed the driver had suffered a gunshot wound and told Charm he administered first aid. However, the driver, identified in the criminal complaint only by the initials HM, was pronounced dead at 1:01 p.m.

Patzer also said he saw “some bullet casings” on the road.

Solano County Jail records show that Aalona was arrested at 2:45 p.m. on Feb. 21 in the 100 block of Amador Street in Vallejo on a Ramey warrant, a type of arrest warrant issued by a judge before the prosecutor has formally filed charges.

The public prosecutor filed its complaint against Aalona on February 23, 2022.