A Bradenton man avoided a murder conviction in a cold case murder that prosecutors said stemmed from gang violence that dates back nearly 20 years.
A jury acquitted Pedro Garcia, 43, of second-degree murder with a firearm in the June 2006 killing of 20-year-old Guadalupe Vela after a three-day trial at the Manatee County Judicial Center, court records show. The jury’s decision came despite evidence from several witnesses who said Garcia admitted to the shooting after it happened.
Prosecutors alleged the shooting was the result of a dispute between rival gang members that began earlier that night at a Bradenton bar and later escalated…