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SALT LAKE CITY — The grandmother and guardian of a 15-year-old who was stabbed to death said she misses his laugh and the hugs he gave her every time he left home. Now, she says "good morning" and "good night" to a photo instead of her grandson — Marcelino "Marci" Johnson.
"This man took everything away from Lino ... he was a kid," Alecia Gonzales said.
Nicolas Nazario Espana, 33, was given two sentences of one to 15 years in prison for murder and obstruction of justice, both second-degree felonies, during his sentencing on Monday.
"I have a number of senseless crimes that come before me, but this one, so unbelievably senseless and so strangely ego driven or something — I mean it doesn't make any sense," 3rd District Court Judge Elizabeth Hruby-Mills said.
She said the sentences will run consecutively because of the "tremendous gravity" of the crime.
Marcelino had been walking with three other teenagers on Aug. 27, 2018, two 13-year-old girls walking ahead of him, and a 15-year-old boy, when Espana and Enrique "Ramon" Deloza, 28, walked by.
Charging documents said the two girls told the boys the two men had "attempted to persuade the girls" to go with them, and when the boys encountered the men, a fight began.
Deputy Salt Lake County attorney Vincent Meister said Deloza was upset he got bested by a 15-year-old and asked Espana for a knife before stalking Marcelino down an alley. He said Espana began throwing the rocks, initiating the fight again, and then called Deloza over because he was losing.
Meister said Marcelino had two stab wounds, one on his face and one that hit his femoral artery.
"It was two-on-one," he said.
Meister said, Espana initially said Deloza stabbed Marcelino but, later, Espana took credit for stabbing Marcelino and said "it was self-defense." Meister said blood spatter evidence supports Deloza was the one who did the stabbing. He said the mixed stories are one of the reasons the case took almost six years to resolve.
The murder charges for both Espana and Deloza were reduced from a first-degree felony as part of a plea deal, and a charge of possession of a dangerous weapon as a restricted person, a third-degree felony, was dismissed for both men.
"His kindness got him killed. All he wanted to do was walk his friend home," Marcelino's grandmother said of the victim.
Gonzales said now they will not see her grandson have a career or have children. She talked about Marcelino's siblings and nephews, who should've still had him in their lives, and said the family dynamic has changed. They don't celebrate birthdays or holidays anymore, the grandmother said.
She said the family has waited through pain and heartache for six years already. The pain, she added, is piercing and constant and "doesn't get better, it gets worse."
"No one should have to go through that — not my family, not anybody's family — and Marcelino did not have to die, and he certainly did not have to die the way he did," Gonzales said.
She said she knows in her heart her grandson is "in a better place," but said, if it were not for Espana, he would be with her. She said he should have stood at her grave instead.
"Marcelino wasn't perfect, but he was perfect for me, and he was perfect for my family," Gonzales said.
She told Espana she forgives him, to honor Marcelino's memory, but told him there is something wrong with him, and he needs to be where he can't hurt others.
"You're not like the rest of us, and there's no place for you with decent people," she said.
Rudy Bautista, Espana's attorney, said Espana acknowledges his mistake and recognizes that it warrants a prison sentence.
"He's looking forward to continuing to change his life for the better," he said.
Espana said he has nightmares and he let his own kids and family down, as well as the victim's family.
"I just want to apologize to the victim's family. I'm sorry that I took their kid from this world. I really apologize, and I feel it every day," he said.
The other man involved in the stabbing, Deloza, 28, is scheduled to be sentenced on April 29.
