Man Gets Life in Prison for Los Gatos Killing

53-year-old Mark Achilli was shot eight times in his driveway four years ago.

A Santa Clara County man will spend the rest of his life in prison for paying to have a Los Gatos restaurant owner killed.

Paul Garcia was sentenced Thursday to life without the possibility of parole for his role in the fatal shooting of 53-year-old Mark Achilli in 2008.

During the trial, prosecutors told jurors that Garcia, through a middleman, had paid $9,500 to have a hit man kill Achilli because he was obsessed with a woman that Achilli was dating.

Garcia was convicted of first-degree murder in 2010. His sentencing Thursday came after a series of postponements.

Michele Achilli, Mark Achilli's estranged wife, said he was the love of her life and that when he was shot eight times, those bullets were left in all those close to him, according to The San Jose Mercury News.

Two other men are already serving time in the case.

Miguel Chaidez, convicted of being the middleman, is serving 25 years to life.

Lucio Estrada, convicted of being the hit man, is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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