BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — A trial nearly two years in the making begins after a tragic August 2022 shooting near Target on Stockdale Highway left 43-year-old Benny Alcala Jr. dead as he charged his electric car.
Career criminal 31-year-old Robert Pernell Roberts and 24-year-old Sebastian Parra are charged with murder and attempted robbery in Alcala’s death.
“He was shot in the back and murdered,” said Prosecutor John Allen.
When news first broke of his death in 2022, Alcala’s mother-in-law, Mary Mendoza spoke to 17 News telling us she wanted answers.
“Who and why? There is no understanding right now of why,” said Mendoza.
The prosecution says the motive was robbery. Roberts was initially identified as the suspect and was charged in Alcala’s death. Parra was the prosecution’s key witness at Robert’s preliminary hearing claiming he’d met Roberts that night and had nothing to do with the killing. However, a grand jury later indicted Parra. In court Monday, the prosecution argued Roberts was the shooter, and Parra was a major participant in felony murder.