Parole denied for 2001 murder: Sergio Pena to remain in prison for stabbing Anthony Tolua at San Carlos party

This April 12, Tolua’s second killer, the alleged former Norteño gangmember Adam Garcia, will also face his first parole board.

The parole board could have let Pena go free or postpone another hearing for three, five, seven, 10 or 15 years, said District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe.

Pena must wait longer before having another chance at parole due to misbehavior. Since being sent to prison, Pena received three serious rules violations for violence, prompting the board to decide he wasn’t fit to be released, Wagstaffe said.

“Two attacks were on fellow inmates, one was for physically resisting a corrections officer. Secondly, he by his own admission, continues to associate with gangmembers,” Wagstaffe said, noting it’s now believed Pena was the one who stabbed Tolua in the heart. “The board found that during the course of the hearing he was deceptive in his answers and that he was emotionless for what he’d done and that it demonstrated to the board members that he lacked insight into the crime and why he committed it.”

Pena and Garcia were convicted in 2003 of stabbing to death Tolua, a Capuchino High School senior who on April 8, 2001, asked uninvited guests to leave his girlfriend’s house during an out-of-control party at her parents’ San Carlos home.

After breaking things in the house and refusing to leave, a chaotic fight ended with Pena and Garcia killing Tolua in the kitchen before fleeing.

The victim’s mother, Darlene Tolua, said she’s relieved to know at least one of her son’s murders will not be getting out any time soon.

“The way they killed Tony, it was brutal, they stabbed him in the heart twice, they stabbed him in the lung, in the spleen, they severed his fingers … it was just a brutal murder,” Tolua said. “I hate to see anybody in jail because it’s not a nice place to be. But when you do a crime like this, and the nature of the crime, it was terrible; you don’t think you’re just going to kill someone and walk away and get free in 15 years.”

Recalling the case as a parents’ worst nightmare — particularly as the girlfriend’s parents were on a short trip in Lake Tahoe when she decided to host a party that quickly got out of hand — Wagstaffe said he’s glad Tolua’s family received some reassurance Thursday.

“People forget the families suffer forever. Sometimes it seems like the focus is on the offender or the defendant, but what we remember is the victims suffer forever. So I’m glad that what they wanted (for Pena to remain in prison) was at least accomplished today,” Wagstaffe said Thursday.

After the more than 37-day trial, Garcia and Pena were convicted of second degree murder and received a 15-year sentence plus another year for using the knife.

Garcia and Pena, who at the time were 19-year-old San Jose residents, showed up to the teenage party uninvited by Tolua or his girlfriend.

Tolua was trying to clear the house at the request of his girlfriend after somebody broke a vase in the living room, according to witnesses who testified at trial.

Tolua entered the kitchen and confronted Pena and Garcia asking them to leave. They refused and the fight ended with Tolua being stabbed in the torso and heart by two separate knives. The weapons were later located on the route allegedly taken by Pena and Garcia as they fled in a friend’s car.

During trial, Garcia argued he acted in self-defense and Pena claimed he was part of the initial fight but denied any participation in the killing. Their defense attorneys at trial argued their clients felt trapped in the kitchen and feared for their lives when a fight broke out.

The attorney who represented Pena at his parole hearing Thursday could not be identified for comment.

Darlene Tolua said the friends of her son, who was preparing to go to college and was well-liked, continue to check in on her and were also happy to hear Pena would remain locked up.

She thanked the District Attorney’s Office for being supportive and like Wagstaffe, hopes Garcia — who is currently incarcerated in San Luis Obispo — will remain in prison.

“I do hope again, for the same reasons for community protection, that the parole board sees the second case as they did today,” Wagstaffe said.

samantha@smdailyjournal.com

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