Queens man gets 22 years for fatal bar shooting

A Queens man has beensentenced to 22 years in prison for opening fire on a 27-year-old man in a Jamaica bar in January 2013.

Reyes Manzueta, 54, pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter in July. Prosecutors said Manzueta was at the same bar —El Nuevo Café Latino — two weeks before the murder, when he hit a woman in the back of her head. She threw a bottle at Manzueta, and the DA’s office said the victim, Jony Gonzalez, stepped in to defend her.

Manzueta returned to the bar two weeks later looking for Gonzalez, and shot him in thechest, back, abdomen, leg and arm with a 9mm handgun. Gonzalez died at the bar; another patron was hit but survived.

“The defendant has now been sentenced for the senseless killing of a 27-year-old man in a bar. The defendant had argued with the victim weeks earlier, but instead of letting it go he returned to the establishment seeking revenge. The defendant will remain behind bars for a lengthy term to protect society and to punish him for this brazen crime,” Queens DistrictAttorney Richard A. Brown said in a statement.

Manzueta was sentenced to 22 years in prison followed by five years of post-release supervision.

The Daily News reported that Manzueta said a dream inspired him to take the plea deal. Manzueta, who according to the News served a manslaughter charge in the 1990s, was facing up to life in prison on murder charges.