SAN ANTONIO – Judy Maldanado, 62, and her son, Ricardo Guzman, 34, have been sentenced to prison for their roles in the shooting of Maldonado's niece, Tracy Briones.
Briones, 19, was shot and wounded as she tried to break up a violent fight between Guzman and his girlfriend, Michelle Guevara, at Maldonado's west side home on April 24, 2011.
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"Tracy tried to get up and Judy told her to stop and hit her with the gun," Guevara testified.
She was testifying during a sentencing hearing on Friday before 379th District Court Judge Ron Rangel.
After striking Briones, Guevara testified, Maldonado shot her.
"She started screaming, ‘It burns, it burns!'" Guevara said.
Following the shooting, Briones ran from the home, begging for help from neighbors.
According to prosecutors, Maldonado and her son called police -- but not to get help for Briones, who suffered gunshot wounds in the arm and abdomen.
Prosecutors said that the two told police they had just shot an intruder who fled from the home.
The pair later admitted they had broken a window and kicked in a door to make it appear that the home had been broken into.
Following Friday's hearing, Briones said she was hurt by the way her family has treated her since the shooting.
"They acted like my life was meaningless," she said. "They've turned their backs on me and, you know, if my life is meaningless them … this is what I had to do."
Rangel sentenced Guzman to eight years in prison and Maldonado to 10 years as part of a plea agreement.
Rangel also made an affirmative finding that a deadly weapon was used, meaning that the two must serve half of their sentences before they are eligible for parole.
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