Fresno man sentenced to 25 years to life for murder of food vendor

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A Fresno man has learned his punishment more than five years after the shocking murder of a local food vendor and father.

23-year-old Demarcus Vega was sentenced on Thursday to 25 years to life in prison for the 2021 killing of 45-year-old Lorenzo Perez.

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Vega pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in May of this year.

Prosecutors laid out evidence showing the timeline of the tragic southeast Fresno shooting.

Police said Vega, who was 18 at the time, pretended to place an order before shooting the well-known neighborhood vendor in the head.

Vega was arrested days later.

The victim's eldest son said in a court statement that his father was a proud, hardworking man and Vega didn't just take his father's life but his family's life as well, altering them forever.

His father's death ignited efforts to increase safety for food vendors across the city of Fresno.