Man’s sentence 10 years for early morning slaying in Springdale parking lot
FAYETTEVILLE — A Lowell man who shot two men in Springdale, killing one, was sentenced Friday to 10 years in the Arkansas Department of Correction on one count of second-degree murder.
Franklin Antonio Soto-Ramos, 23, was charged with one count of capital murder and one count of attempted capital murder in the shooting in a McDonald’s parking lot around 3 a.m. June 22, 2019. He was acquitted on both charges by a Washington County Circuit Court jury Thursday evening.
Soto-Ramos, who moved to Northwest Arkansas with relatives from Puerto Rico about three years ago, said he was scared for his life and the lives of friends who were with him. Matt Durrett, Washington County prosecutor, argued that shooting the two men wasn’t reasonable or justified.
The jury of seven women and five men deliberated more than four hours before finding Soto-Ramos guilty of the lesser charge of murder in the second degree in the death of Carlos Alexander Ascencio.
Police found Ascencio, 18, and Juan Carlos Bahena-Garcia, 20, with gunshot wounds in the parking lot of a McDonald’s on Robinson Avenue. Ascencio was pronounced dead at the scene, while Bahena-Garcia was taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries but survived.
Ascencio was struck by one bullet, which hit him in the right side of the chest and passed through both lungs, his heart and exited through his back. Bahena-Garcia was hit multiple times in the abdomen and right arm.
Second-degree murder is unintentionally causing the death of another under circumstances showing extreme indifference to human life, according to Arkansas law. A person convicted of second-degree murder faces six to 30 years in prison.
“Obviously, I wanted something more, but at the end of the day it’s not my call,” Durrett said after Soto-Ramos was sentenced. “I’m disappointed, but I’m not disappointed in them because they worked hard,” he said of jurors.
“This is what they thought it deserved, and I certainly respect that,” Durrett said. “Jurors are the ultimate arbiters of justice, and they use their good judgment to determine what’s appropriate in each case because this is their community and a jury is the conscience of the community.”
Durrett said Soto-Ramos will have to serve a minimum of 2.5 years in prison before he’s first eligible for parole. Durrett said he wasn’t sure how the more than two years that Soto-Ramos spent in jail while awaiting trial will factor into the equation.
Arkansas didn’t have a stand-your-ground law at the time of the shootings but has since enacted one. Durrett said that wouldn’t have been a factor in this case.
“I wasn’t arguing with the self-defense claim. My argument wasn’t that he wasn’t entitled to it because he didn’t retreat,” Durrett said.
Durrett also praised the efforts of Springdale police for their handling of the case, including tracking Soto-Ramos down out-of-state within about 12 hours of the shooting.
According to trial testimony, Bahena-Garcia pulled into the restaurant parking lot and parked in the drive, blocking the cars belonging to Soto-Ramos and his group of friends, mostly teenagers. Bahena-Garcia then got out of his car and approached them, asking what their gang affiliation was while ripping off his shirt and beating his chest. Ascencio also got out of the car and approached the group. A third man stayed in the car.
The group said they had no gang affiliation, but Soto-Ramos’ brother apparently flipped off Bahena-Garcia. Bahena-Garcia punched him. Soto-Ramos got a gun from his car and started shooting.
Bahena-Garcia said he was in a gang at the time, as were others with him, and he wanted to show he was tough and scare or intimidate the group. Bahena-Garcia testified Wednesday that he thought Soto-Ramos and his friends were looking into his car.
Soto-Ramos and his group fled before police arrived. He was tracked through Missouri, Illinois and Indiana by pinging a cellphone belonging to Soto-Ramos’ girlfriend, who was with him. Soto-Ramos said he was trying to reach relatives in Philadelphia.
Soto-Ramos was arrested outside Indianapolis, and the gun used was found in the trunk of his car, according to Springdale police. He was returned to Northwest Arkansas and jailed until his trial.