Man, 17 at time of shooting, sentenced to 40 years to life for North Sacramento homicide
A 21-year-old man was sentenced to prison on Friday for the 2017 killing of a man in North Sacramento.
In a news release, the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office said that Leon Tucker Jr. received a 40 years to life term over a fatal shooting that occurred Dec. 3, 2017, when Tucker was 17.
According to prosecutors, Tucker shot Steven Matthews, 27, who was believed to be homeless, in the head. Prosecutors said that Matthews assaulted Tucker the day before the shooting.
A Sacramento Bee news report from January 2018 — when Tucker was arrested — said that Matthews was found shot on a levee near Norwood Avenue and Fairbanks Avenue, near Arcade Creek. Police at the time did not release Tucker’s name, as he was still a minor.
The gun used in the shooting was never found, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Tucker was convicted of second-degree murder in May. He had pleaded not guilty to the murder charge, according to Sacramento County court records.
