Security guard sentenced in fatal 2021 shooting at Phoenix nightclub
A Maricopa County Superior Court judge sentenced a security guard to five years probation with jail time in connection with a May 2021 nightclub shooting that left one man dead.
Last April, Serafin Chavez, 36, pleaded guilty to a manslaughter charge and, according to court records, admitted to shooting 29-year-old Ruben Sekisaka in the back while working as a security guard at Club Silverado in Phoenix, not far from Grand Canyon University.
In May, Judge Laura Reckart sentenced Chavez to five years probation on top of the one year he served in county jail awaiting trial.
What happened in this case
Maricopa County prosecutors initially charged Chavez with second-degree murder and tampering with evidence.
On May 9, 2021, Chavez and another security guard had pulled Sekisaka out of the bar after a fight. Sekisaka pointed a gun in the air, and the two guards took out their weapons, aiming them at Sekisaka.
According to statements in court records by a second guard helping Chavez, Sekisaka tucked the gun into his pants and he started running away when Chavez shot him.
Court records describe how outside video surveillance showed that Sekisaka tucked the gun into his pants and started to run away when Chavez shot him. The images show Chavez picking up a bullet casing and putting it near a trash can.
At first, Chavez told police that Sekisaka tripped and shot himself, but later claimed that he thought Sekisaka pointed a gun at him when he was running away, so he shot him in self-defense.
Who is Chavez?
Chavez had worked as a security guard at Club Silverado for the previous six years and had no other history in court records of violent crime.
Judge Reckart felt that Chavez was a low risk to the community because of his clean record and admission of guilt.
Sekisaka's father told the court that he did not believe justice was being served at sentencing and that even five years in prison would not have been enough.
Why we're reporting on this
This reporting follows a crime The Republic began to cover in 2021 and is part of our commitment to tell the story from start to finish.
Reach crime reporter Miguel Torres at Miguel.Torres@arizonarepublic.com or on Twitter @TheMiguelTorres.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Judge sentences man to 5 years probation in deadly nightclub shooting
