South City man sentenced to eight years in prison

“The court said eight years is sufficient time for the defendant to reflect on what he did and make appropriate changes. We felt that was below where he belonged,” Wagstaffe said. “A life was taken so for us we felt it ought to be a double-digit sentence. We think the judge showed leniency Mr. Cruz-Partida did not deserve.”

Cruz-Partida has already served 1,733 days in prison — more than half of his sentence.

Jurors in 2019 found Cruz-Partida guilty of felony assault and not murder in the April 25, 2016, shootings near Orange Park.

Cruz-Partida and his ex-girlfriend dated for six years and had a 3-year-old daughter before she ended the relationship in 2015 because of Cruz-Partida’s abuse of her. She shortly after began dating victim Nicholas Gomez, 20.

The new relationship angered Cruz-Partida, who made several threats to his ex-girlfriend. On April 25, Cruz-Partida confronted Gomez and his brother Steven Gomez near Orange Park. An argument broke out and Cruz-Partida shot both brothers with a handgun and fled the area. Nicholas Gomez died from his gunshot injuries and Steven Gomez was taken to the hospital with several injuries. He survived after several surgeries.

During the 2019 trial, defense attorney Jonathan McDougall said Cruz-Partida fired a warning shot, which did not deter Nicholas and Steven Gomez. Wagstaffe said the victims had no weapons but that Cruz-Partida was armed with a handgun.

After the trial, McDougall said jurors concluded Cruz-Partida was acting in self-defense. The victim and his brother had threatened to come back and kill Cruz-Partida, McDougall said.