A Gonzales man has been sentenced to 38 years and eight months in state prison for a series of violent crimes spanning three years. The crimes include a fatal shooting, an attempted murder with a cinderblock and a jailhouse stabbing involving gang members.

Jesus Tejeda, 37, was sentenced on Tuesday after pleading no contest to voluntary manslaughter with the personal use of a firearm, attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon in furtherance of a gang, according to a press release from the District Attorney’s office.

On Dec. 13, 2021, Christopher Conner was shot in the head while driving at the intersection of Nacional Court and Clark Street in Salinas. The car crashed into a nearby apartment complex. Witnesses said the shooter exited the passenger side, got into a second vehicle that had been following and fled. After a lengthy investigation, Tejeda was identified as the shooter. A motive was never established.

Less than a month later, on Jan. 5, 2022, before being connected to the homicide, Tejeda was seen driving a stolen vehicle near a farm in Gonzales.

According to witnesses, he assaulted another person who was riding with him, knocking the victim to the ground before throwing a 55-pound cinderblock at his head, leaving him unconscious. Tejeda fled and led law enforcement on a high-speed chase before being caught.

The victim survived but refused to cooperate with investigators to provide any statement on what happened or why it happened.

While in custody in the Monterey County Jail on March 9, 2023, Tejeda and other Norteño gang members coordinated a group attack on another inmate. Investigators say the group stabbed the victim multiple times, causing significant injuries.