The courtroom erupted with cheers, clapping and sobbing when Napa County Superior Court Judge Rodney Stone sentenced convicted murderer Onesimo Garcia to 54 years to life in state prison on Wednesday morning.

Last month a jury found Garcia, 33, guilty of fatally shooting his on-again off-again girlfriend Sandra Hernandez, 31, on July 31, 2005, in the bedroom of her residence on Dry Creek Road.

More than 20 of Hernandez’ family members and friends packed the courtroom to hear Garcia’s fate. Chairs were empty across the aisle, where the defendant’s family would normally be seated, just as they were during the three-week court trial.

Garcia listened as Stone ordered him to prison for what could be the remainder of his life. Garcia will be in his early 80s before he is eligible for parole.

As a Spanish interpreter translated Stone’s words for Garcia through headphones, his face showed no emotion. He never made eye contact with the victim’s family.

Several members of Hernandez’s family addressed the court at the sentencing, including her mother.

“This is not easy for me to be here, but it is necessary. This terrible sadness has left an empty feeling in my heart,” Maria Preciado said through a court interpreter. “This person decided to take control of my daughter’s life. Still at the bottom of my heart, I can’t believe she is dead. This man should never be allowed to roam the streets again as a free man. He doesn’t deserve to live.”

Hernandez’s sister, Trinidad Preciado, also told the court of her loss and grief.

“This man took a daughter from my mother and a sister from me. He made the choice to do that. I miss my sister every single day of my life,” she said.

Hernandez left behind a son, now 16, as well as children who were 2, 4 and 6 at the time of her death.

The father of the teen told the court that Garcia’s “actions had hurt many people. Our son never got to say goodbye to his mother. He took that away from him.”

Garcia was charged with first-degree murder, but the jury returned a verdict of second-degree murder and found him guilty of assault with a firearm, two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm and one count of the use of firearm during the commission of a felony.

During the trial, Napa County Deputy District Attorney Rossi portrayed Garcia as a jealous boyfriend who was afraid Hernandez was going to leave him. He also argued Garcia was controlling and believed the way to control women was through violence.

Defense attorney Tom Gill argued the shooting was accidental and Garcia fled the homicide scene because he was scared. He told the jury the couple had a rocky relationship, and in fact Garcia was convicted in 2004 of domestic violence and false imprisonment for an incident where Hernandez was the victim.

On the day Hernandez died, Garcia came to the Dry Creek Road home where Hernandez was renting a room and performed target practice with a .22-caliber rifle owned by Hernandez’s landlord, Bonnie Stanislawski.

Later, inside the home, Hernandez asked Stanislawski if Garcia could clean her guns. Stanislawski agreed and gave Hernandez the rifle, her .38-revolver and a gun cleaning kit.

Garcia and Hernandez went into Hernandez’s bedroom, and a short time later Stanislawski heard a gunshot. She ran to her bedroom door just as Garcia ran by. She testified she asked him what happened, and he replied, “nothing,” ran out the back door and sped off in his Lexus.

Stanislawski found Hernandez lying on the bedroom floor in a pool of blood. She called 911.

Garcia was arrested later that day at his brother’s home in Fairfield.

Garcia murder trial links

Guilty of murder, July 10, 2007

Accidental shooting or murder?, July 6, 2007

Murder case heads for jury Thursday, July 3, 2007

Questions about gun mark second day of murder trial June 26, 2007

Drugs, guns and jealousy, June 23, 2007

Garcia murder trial delayed until 2007, Oct. 31, 2006

Local woman's death highlights troubling cycling of violence, Oct. 20, 2005

Family gather to honor life of July 31 shooting victim, Aug. 9, 2005

Murder victim, suspect had dealings with the law, Aug. 6, 2005

$10 million bail in Dry Creek murder, Aug. 3, 2005

Fairfield man arrested in Dry Creek slaying, Aug. 2, 2005