Fresno man sentenced to 10 years in prison for killing neighbor

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A Fresno man has been sentenced to ten years in prison for killing his neighbor after an argument went too far two years ago.

On Friday, Rodrigo Quezada was sentenced to 10 years for shooting 50-year-old Francisco Franquez, or Javier, his Trails End Mobile Home Park neighbor back in October of 2020.

Javier's family was also in court, but left feeling unsatisfied.

"I'm very disappointed with our system. I feel like 10 years, basically, 8 years cuz he already served two, is not enough for murder," said Javier's niece Aurelia Franquez.

Aurelia said her uncle's killer apologized for his actions before heading to prison, but that's not enough to fill the void he left.

"The judge asked him if he had anything to say and all he said was, 'I'm sorry'. I feel like he should have had more to say."

Quezada and Javier had a long-standing feud.

Authorities said they were familiar with the feud because of the past disturbance calls.

But Javier's family says he was not problematic.

"He was a very great person, everybody loved him. He was never a fighter or an arguer, none of that. He just wanted peace," said Aurelia.

Quezada was originally charged with first-degree murder, but on Friday, he pleaded 'no contest' to voluntary manslaughter.

Quezada was sentenced to six years for manslaughter, and an additional four years for use of a firearm.

"He accepts responsibility that what occurred never should have occurred, he still bears some resentment for the conflict and how long it went on and things that were done to his family," said Quezada's attorney, Miles Harris.

The attorney says Quezada will serve eight more years in prison. He's already served two since 2020.

While the Franquez family is happy for this closure, they are working on trying to forgive Quezada.