OMAHA — A Lincoln man who fatally shot his estranged wife's new boyfriend in Omaha was sentenced Thursday to life in prison.Â
Marlon Miranda Jr., 28, was found of first-degree murder and use of a firearm to commit a felony. Thursday, Douglas County District Judge Duane Dougherty sentenced Miranda to life in prison on the murder charge and 45 to 50 years on the firearm charge.Â
On June 13, 2020, Miranda was at Epoca Cantina, near 12th and Davenport streets, to celebrate his friend's birthday. Also present: his estranged wife, Sharon Miranda, from whom he had been separated since July 2019, and her boyfriend of a few months, 26-year-old Jose Santos Parra Juarez.Â
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Sharon Miranda testified at Marlon Miranda's trial that he was aggressive that night and angry when both she and a cousin refused his request to dance.
Later, Sharon Miranda and Juarez could be seen smooching at a table. After the house lights had gone up and bargoers were leaving, Sharon Miranda got up to go to the restroom. Marlon Miranda walked over to Juarez and acted like he was whispering in his ear. When Juarez leaned over, Miranda grabbed him by the neck and twisted. The two struggled to the ground. After security intervened, Juarez emerged with a bloody face and a ripped shirt.
After the bar owner and security kicked Marlon Miranda out of the bar, he went to get a gun from his car and returned, "speed walking" toward Sharon Miranda and Juarez, who had left the bar by then.
Marlon Miranda got in Juarez’s face. A prosecutor said Miranda reached around Sharon and shot Juarez in the left ribs, the bullet passing through his torso. Miranda then fired five more times, mostly to Juarez's torso. Witnesses described Miranda standing over Juarez and shooting him in the neck.
Miranda then turned toward his ex-wife, grabbed her hair and pointed a gun at her. Off-duty Bellevue Police Sgt. John Stuck, who was working security in the area, arrived and saw a gunman slamming a woman’s head against the brick wall of a parking garage. A gun was in the man's right hand, angled toward the woman.
Stuck fired nine shots at Miranda, hitting him twice and saving Sharon Miranda's life.Â
Jurors in December before finding Marlon Miranda guilty. Â