California teen linked to three murders gets just 7 years, sheriff blames woke DA

A California teen linked to three murder cases — including the brutal road rage slaying of a newlywed — was sentenced to just seven years in prison after a radically woke DA declined to try him as an adult.

The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office ripped head local prosecutor Pamela Price for rejecting their call to slap Sergio Morales-Jacquez, now 18, with a stiffer penalty in a Facebook post.

“Due to Morales-Jacquez’s extensive and violent criminal history in multiple jurisdictions, a petition was submitted to the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office to have Morales-Jacquez charged as an adult,” the agency wrote.

Morales-Jacquez shot Rienhart Asuncion dead in September 2022 in San Lorenzo after a road rage incident.

Asuncion was chatting with his wife on Facetime when he became involved in a dispute with the shooter and several of his friends. Cops said Morales-Jacquez fatally shot Asuncion after he exited his car.

“Unfortunately, that petition was denied, and Morales-Jacquez was charged as a juvenile for the murder of Asuncion in March 2023.”

The department also noted that the killer could become eligible for parole before the end of his sentence and be back on the streets by the time he is 25.

“Seven years for three murder cases?” said a former local prosecutor. “That is telling these kids that they are in control. Nothing — and I mean nothing — is a big deal anymore.”

The attorney said extreme leniency for juveniles will wreak havoc on the county’s streets because kids are committing increasingly violent crimes at younger ages.

“Forget 16 and 17,” the source said. “We’re seeing kids getting into gang life at 10 now. Violent felony cases for kids under 15 are not a rare occurrence anymore. That’s why this approach is going to be a major, major problem.”

Price was elected to office last November after campaigning as an unapologetic progressive, vowing to lower jail terms and upend Alameda County’s prosecutorial conventions.

Morales-Jacquez is also linked to the slaying of two teenage brothers from Berkeley at party in Oakland less than two weeks after the killing of Asuncion.

Along with two accomplices, Morales-Jacquez opened fire at the bash killing two siblings, Angel and Jazy Sotelo Garcia, and wounding several others.

The brothers were not the intended targets, authorities said.

Price’s office has requested Morales-Jacquez be tried as an adult in that case, but the decision is pending review.

Police are also investigating his role in yet another homicide case in nearby Fremont, according to the Berkeley Scanner.

Relatives of the slain siblings have told media outlets they are fearful of Price’s approach to the case because of her commitment to leniency.

Several high profile members of Price’s office have resigned in recent months, arguing that her “decarceral” emphasis has blurred the lines between criminal and victim.

In an effort to “stop over-criminalizing youth,” Price wants to “stop charging and /or incarcerating youths under the age of 18 as adults,” according to her website.

She has also opted against adding gun and gang criminal enhancements in several other high-profile cases.

Previously, prosecutors attached the enhancements to serious felony cases to enable them to seek longer prison terms.

Price has all but prohibited their use, pushing her prosecutors to lean on probation for nearly all crimes and leading two veteran prosecutors who had served for 26 and 17 years respectively to quit.