A San Diego man has been sentenced to six years in state prison for killing 61-year-old Jerry Puerile during a confrontation at a Hillcrest gas station, closing a case that saw murder charges filed, dismissed, refiled, and ultimately replaced by a guilty plea to a lesser crime. Solomon Guerrero, 57, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the death, which occurred after Puerile was strangled and hit his head on the ground outside the Shell station on Washington Street.
According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, responding police officers found Puerile unconscious in front of the business before he was taken to a hospital, where he later died. The altercation unfolded at 4:54 p.m. on March 1, 2025, at the station located at 330 Washington Street, according to Patch. Witnesses told police the suspect fled west on foot, and officers apprehended Guerrero near the intersection of West Washington Street and Albatross Street shortly after the attack, Patch reported.
Puerile was a San Diego resident who lived in the Clairemont and Bay Park neighborhoods and had driven to Hillcrest the afternoon of the incident, per the Times of San Diego. Security camera footage presented during preliminary court hearings showed Puerile driving into the gas station and having a brief conversation with Guerrero before exiting his van and collapsing, the outlet’s later coverage noted. Guerrero’s defense attorney argued in court filings that Puerile instigated the confrontation and that Guerrero fought back.
A Murder Case That Kept Falling Apart
Guerrero was initially charged with murder, but a judge declined to hold him to answer on that charge. Prosecutors refiled the murder count, only for another judge to dismiss it as well. San Diego Superior Court Judge Laura Parsky dismissed the homicide charge in October 2025 following medical testimony that Puerile’s fatal injuries could have been caused by his head hitting the pavement alongside other contributing physical factors, the same outlet’s report detailed…