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Both defense and prosecution attorneys told jurors Monday that Francisco Espinoza Almeida fatally shot a man in 2022 in an act of jealousy.

Prosecutors asked jurors on Monday to convict Espinoza Almeida of first-degree murder for the deliberate killing a rival who had spent the night with Espinoza Almeida's "on-again, off-again girlfriend."

But Espinoza Alemeida's attorney, Megan Mitsunaga, asked jurors to convict her client on a lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter in the shooting death of 25-year-old Allen Sandoval.

Mitsunaga argued that Espinoza Almeida, 26, was deeply in love with his girlfriend, Jenna Padilla, and had no idea he would find Sandoval in her bed when he entered her bedroom.

"The shock of heartbreak, when it is shoved in you face, can unleash powerful emotions beyond our control," she said in opening statements. "When all that comes crashing down in an instant, the consequences can be tragic. In this case, it absolutely was."

Mitsunaga argued that Espinoza Almeida was blinded by anger and jealousy when he fatally shot Sandoval but had not planned the killing. Espinoza Almeida wept in court Monday as his attorney described his close relationship with his former girlfriend.

"The state has told you this is a murder story," she said. "Jealousy, absolutely. It's also a love story, and as some love stories go, they can sometimes end in tragedy."

Elana Volpert, Padilla鈥檚 mother, testified Monday that she called 911 on Jan. 22, 2022, and reported that her daughter's ex-boyfriend had killed someone in the apartment the mother and daughter shared in the 6000 block of Sunset Gardens SW, near Old Coors.

When officers arrived, they found Sandoval dead in a bedroom with multiple gunshots to his chest and arms.

Prosecutor Gabriel Kallen said in opening statements that Espinoza Almeida had sent text messages to Padilla that morning indicating that he suspected she had spent the night with someone.

"He asked her, 鈥榃hat are you doing? Who are you with? You only ignore me when you're with someone,鈥�" Kallen said reading text messages from Espinoza Almeida鈥檚 phone.

Espinoza Almeida armed himself with a handgun and drove to Padilla's home from his own home in Southeast sa国际传媒官网网页入口, Kallen said.

"The defendant rode all the way across town with a gun, pushed his way into Jenna's house," he told jurors. Espinoza Almeida "makes his way to her room, sees Allen Sandoval, pulls a gun out and unloads on him 13 rounds, killing him. Those are unsurvivable injuries."

Mitsunaga argued that her client had always carried a handgun for protection.

Espinoza Almeida was 19 and Padilla was 17 at the time of the killing. Volpert said that the two had dated since 2019 and had a "volatile" relationship.

"It was always back and forth for them," Volpert told jurors. Padilla had lived with Espinoza Almeida since she was 16 but the two had recently broken up, she testified.