HILLSBORO, Ore. — A man was sentenced to life in prison earlier this month for fatally shooting the manager of a Hillsboro bar after she asked him to leave.
On Sept. 3, 2023, Sain Delgado Venegas pleaded guilty to second-degree murder with a firearm and two counts of first-degree attempted murder with a firearm. He also pleaded guilty in a separate case to possession of a weapon by an inmate.
Venegas was sentenced to life in prison, with the possibility of parole after 25 years, in addition to the 8-year prison sentence from the possession of a weapon case, said the Washington County District Attorney's Office.
On April 1, 2023, Venegas, who was 23 years old at the time, and three others entered a Hillsboro restaurant and bar, Kim's Red Rose. When a bartender asked to see identification, the men refused and were asked to leave.
The group returned around an hour later, sitting in a different section. The same bartender from before alerted the manager, 42-year-old Isaura Soto-Gaona. Soto-Gaona and the bartender asked the group to leave again, and three did.
However, Venegas lingered near the entry doorway, then pulled a handgun and attempted to fire it twice at Soto-Gaona and the bartender. The gun malfunctioned and did not go off, but Venegas was then able to fire a round directly at Soto-Gaona, which struck her in the chest.
Despite life-saving efforts by restaurant staff and responding officers, Soto-Gaona died.
Maria Ramos, who said she knew Soto-Gaona, told KGW last year, "I saw that she was a great person, very loving, and I don't know why this happened to her."
Hillsboro police later learned that Venegas had been recently released from prison and met with his parole officer weeks before the shooting. Venegas was seen wearing the same sweatshirt he'd worn during the shooting on security cameras from the courthouse. Deputies from the Washington County Jail also found a makeshift weapon hidden in Venegas's cell while he was awaiting trial for murder.
Venegas will be transferred to the Oregon Department of Corrections to serve his sentence, according to the Washington County District Attorney's Office.
