Man found not guilty of murdering ex-girlfriend’s beau

REDWOOD CITY » A jury has ruled a Peninsula man not guilty of murdering his exgirlfriend’s new boyfriend after a 2016 confrontation in which he shot both the boyfriend and his brother near a local park.

On Friday, jurors in San Mateo County Superior Court found South San Francisco resident Cristian Cruz-Partida, 23, guilty of felony assault with a semiautomatic firearm, but they stopped short of a conviction on murder or attempted murder charges, appearing to at least partially accept the defense’s contention that the shooting was in self-defense after a fight escalated.

The verdict concludes a case that had its origins in late 2015, when Cruz-Partida’s longtime girlfriend left him after years of alleged physical abuse and began dating Nicholas Gomez, 20.

One afternoon the following spring, Cruz-Partida, then 19, confronted Gomez and his brother Steven Gomez at Orange Memorial Park in South San

Francisco.

An argument and a physical fight ensued between the three men, culminating in Cruz-Partida shooting both brothers with a handgun, prosecutors said.

The brothers were taken to a hospital, where Nicholas Gomez died of his injuries; Steven Gomez underwent several surgeries and survived. Cruz-Partida was arrested later that week in Stockton and has remained in custody since.

After five days of deliberating, jurors remained unconvinced that Cruz-Partida had not shot the men out of self-defense, said District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe.

“They just couldn’t reach that level of satisfaction that he wasn’t genuinely fearful,” Wagstaffe said.

Still, the assault conviction could mean up to 15 years behind bars.

Separately, Cruz-Partida faces several charges related to a 2017 assault he allegedly committed against another inmate while in custody.

A court date for that case is scheduled in January. Cruz-Partida remains in custody on no-bail status.