In a surprise development, a Chula Vista man pleaded guilty March 16 to two counts of first-degree murder in the slayings of two people hours apart in the South Bay.
Luiz Alberto “Pelon” Ruiz, 28, admitted to killing Roberto Soria, 25, on July 10, 2015, at 11 p.m., and with killing Pamela Burgos, 24, an hour later outside a house party in Chula Vista.
Ruiz also pleaded guilty to three special circumstance charges of murdering multiple victims, murder during an attempted robbery, and murder in benefit to a criminal street gang.
Ruiz will be sentenced to two consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole, said Deputy District Attorney Matthew Williams. The death penalty had earlier been ruled out.
Chula Vista Superior Court Judge Ana Espana set sentencing for May 17. Ruiz remains in jail without bail.
Espana heard the preliminary hearing which lasted several days in Jan.. It is expected that family members of the victims may speak at the sentencing.
Soria was shot to death in the 2600 block of Gould Lane in the Palm City neighborhood. A 22-year-old man with him was wounded and Ruiz also pleaded guilty to attempted murder.
Burgos, who was also known as Luiaza Burgos De La Torre, was shot along Quintard Street as she walked with a male companion, who was not injured.
One special circumstance charge, murder of a witness, was dismissed. At the time, Burgos was a prosecution witness in a murder and attempted murder case that Ruiz was interested in following.
Ruiz is a documented gang member who was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon in 2010 in a stabbing and resisting arrest in 2015 when he punched a police officer several times, according to court records.
