OAKLAND — A local resident was sentenced to 16 years to life in prison for fatally stabbing his ex-girlfriend’s brother after allegedly showing up to the victim’s home, throwing rocks at his window, and confronting him outside.
Adelto Sanchez Medizabal, 59, was convicted at trial of second degree murder and a knife enhancement in the 2023 stabbing death of Gerardo Abreau. In mid-September, Judge Thomas Reardon sentenced Medizabal to 16 years to life, despite pleas from Medizabal’s lawyer to strike the one-year knife enhancement.
Medizabal was transferred to North Kern State Prison earlier this month, records show.
Medizabal had a rocky relationship with Abreau’s sister, who took the stand and said he’d been kicked out of her home “because all of the quarreling and all of the beatings that he would give me,” according to court records. Prosecutors say Medizabal and Abreau also argued over an outstanding debt and that Medizabal left threatening voicemails and told another eyewitness he would kill Abreau.
On Nov. 30, 2023, the day on the murder, Medizabal allegedly armed himself with a metal pipe and a knife. Abreau was able to knock the pipe away but Medizabal stabbed him during a fistfight. He exclaimed, “that (expletive) stabbed me,” and died later that day at a hospital. An eyewitness who drove Abreau to the hospital told police he noticed Medizabal throwing something down a storm drain right after the stabbing, according to court records.
Jurors rejected a theory that the stabbing was in self-defense, but also declined to convict Medizabal of premeditated murder, records show.
Medizabal’s lawyer, Alanna Coopersmith, argued in court filings that Medizabal should receive the legal minimum of 15 years to life, not 16, writing that he has been treated for cancer at Santa Rita Jail, that he has expressed “great remorse” and that he’ll be “old and frail” by the time he gets out of prison, if he ever does.
“The tragic killing of Gerardo Abreu, his friend, was committed because of the unusual circumstance of great provocation that is unlikely to reoccur,” Coopersmith wrote in court filings. “Mr. Abreu was the initial aggressor or instigator of the fight, or at very least had a role in provoking it.”
A probation report cites several aggravating factors, like a prior weapons conviction, the history of domestic violence, and Medizabal fleeing the area after the stabbing, only to be arrested in Morgan Hill a short time later.
“The victim’s family must now endure the lifelong pain and trauma caused by the senseless and preventable loss of their loved one,” the probation report says. “The emotional impact on the family is immeasurable, and their suffering will continue long after the legal proceedings have concluded.”