Man gets 50 years to life for killing wife near Irvine preschool

An Anaheim man was sentenced Friday to 50 years to life in prison for shooting his estranged wife to death outside a preschool in the Turtle Rock area of Irvine, the Orange County district attorney’s office announced.

A jury previously convicted John Rand Agosta, 37, of following Alejandra Hernandez, 28, to the school where she worked and waiting outside with a gun, the Daily Pilot reported.

When she left work for lunch on June 16, 2011, Agosta tailed Hernandez about half a mile until she got out of the car at a cul-de-sac.

Agosta then shot her nine times in the chest, returned to his Ford Mustang and tried to drive off, but couldn’t start the car.

After returning to the body and turning it over with his foot, he then ran, according to the district attorney’s office.

Hernandez was pronounced dead at the scene, and Irvine police arrested Agosta at a friend’s house in Mission Viejo hours after the murder.

In June, a jury found Agosta guilty of one felony count of murder and a sentencing enhancement for the personal discharge of a firearm causing death.

An aunt and two sisters of Hernandez spoke at Friday’s sentencing. According to a news release from the district attorney, “each described the victim as a person of peace and forgiveness.�

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Twitter: @jeremiahdobruck

Dobruck writes for Times Community News.