Wisconsin's Most Wanted: Milwaukee man sentenced for 2017 killing
MILWAUKEE - A Milwaukee man previously named one of Wisconsin's Most Wanted has been sentenced to prison for the 2017 killing of Angel Ortega.
Omar Estrada, 31, was sentenced to 12 years behind bars and eight years of extended supervision. He pleaded guilty to second-degree reckless homicide last month, and additional charges were dropped as part of a plea deal.
"My son is not here anymore," said Ernestina Ortega. "Not here to say, ‘I love you.’"
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Prosecutors said Estrada and Jose Sanchez opened fire at a former Walker's Point nightclub after a dispute on the dance floor. The shooting hurt two other people, and Sanchez remains on the run.
"He destroyed my family," Ernestina said.
Angel Ortega
Estrada's defense attorney said his client was friends with the victim and never meant to kill anyone: "When he found out it was Angel, he was even more heartbroken."
Ortega’s family disagrees.
"It’s like a slap in the face, the fact that it took him this long to be caught, and he didn’t even turn himself in," said Esperanza Ortega, Angel's sister.
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Estrada was arrested in Mexico last summer after years on the run. In court Thursday, it was revealed he and Sanchez hid in a basement for weeks before fleeing the country.
"Today I accept full responsibility for my actions," Estrada said in court Thursday.
"Your acceptance of responsibility is tempered by the fact it took four-five years for you to get here, and you really – you didn’t have to leave town. You could have turned yourself in," said the judge. "I still haven’t heard why this happened, so here we’ve got another homicide with no good reason.
"When you shoot blindly, then you pay the cost of what happens on the other end."
The U.S. Marshals said they are actively searching for Sanchez, believed to be hiding out in Mexico. Anyone with information is asked to call the tip line: 414-297-3707. You can remain anonymous.