San Jose: Murder conviction in 2019 road rage shooting

SAN JOSE — Jurors have convicted a San Jose man of first-degree murder in a 2019 road rage shooting that killed a Central Valley man at a popular shopping plaza, according to authorities and court records.

Antonio Dominguez Pinal, 30, received the jury verdict Thursday in a Morgan Hill courtroom. He was also convicted of a sentencing enhancement for using a gun in the Aug. 10, 2019 killing of 24-year-old Jose Castaneda Sandoval at the Plaza de San Jose shopping center at Story and King roads.

Pinal, who at the time of the shooting was facing getting his parole revoked related to a 2013 conviction for assault with a deadly weapon, faces up to 75 years to life in prison at his sentencing scheduled Oct. 4.

A police investigation found that Sandoval, whose listed residence was in Ceres, was shot after a chance late-night encounter with Pinal in the shopping center’s parking lot where they exchanged heated words while driving past each other. Sandoval was leaving the lot while Pinal was entering, and Sandoval reportedly returned to the lot after exiting and parked next to Pinal.

Investigators contend that Pinal approached and banged on Sandoval’s driver-side door while making violent threats. After Sandoval lowered the window, Pinal fired a single shot from a .40 caliber pistol, wounding the seated driver in his shoulder area. Pinal then fled the scene; the gun used in the shooting was never recovered.

Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney O’Bryan Kenney said Sandoval’s momentary dispute with Pinal did not warrant deadly violence. He lauded the jury’s decision largely resolving a case that was heavily delayed, chiefly by the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing court closures.

“The victim was there to get some food and go home. He didn’t do anything to justify losing his life,” Kenney said. “We will stop at nothing, no matter how long it takes, to hold people accountable for this kind of senseless violence.”

He also emphasized that Pinal was on parole for a violent crime conviction and thus prohibited from having firearms, but “was able to obtain one and then used it in a shopping center with families and children present.”

“This highlights the importance of taking illegal guns off the street,” Kenney said.

Pinal eluded arrest for Sandoval’s shooting for nearly three weeks until he was arrested after trying to flee a traffic stop by San Jose police Aug. 29, 2019. He was booked on suspicion of felony evading, for which he was also convicted Thursday.

It was during his jail stay for that arrest — which was lengthened because of his parole status — that San Jose police and the district attorney’s office served him with the murder charge.

In February 2021, Pinal was charged with being a felony to an accessory related to a group assault in jail, and he later pleaded to a single felony count. The progress of that case had been halted pending the outcome of the murder trial, and a related hearing is now scheduled for Sept. 10.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.