Man convicted of killing Coronado sailor

CHULA VISTA, Calif. (KGTV) – It was a carjacking that went terribly wrong.

It cost the life of a Navy sailor and put a young man behind bars.

San Diego County Superior Court Judge Michael J. Popkins sentenced Ricardo Vazquez Gongora on Friday to 15 years to life for the murder of Eddie Foster.

Foster died last year when Vazquez Gongora, then 18, stole Foster’s car while he worked a second job as a delivery driver for Amazon.

Foster was a father of four children who had served at Naval Station North Island. His mother told ABC 10 News that he enlisted about four years ago at age 30 to support his family.

Diana Medlen, Foster’s mother, asked the judge to sentence Vazquez Gongora to life in prison.

“I want to tell Mr. Gongora that I forgive you for what you did. And I still ask you to pay your price. Pay the price for my son’s life. And I hope you go to jail and get something better with your life,” she said.

Vazquez Gongora will be eligible for parole in approximately 13 years due to time served and California state laws regarding young offenders, according to Deputy District Attorney Makenzie Harvey.

Vazquez Gongora pleaded guilty to manslaughter earlier this year. On Friday, he cried as he apologized to Foster’s family.

He also sat motionless as Foster’s wife, who left the state, sent a nearly 10-minute audio statement to the court.

In that statement, Ashley Foster said the death shocked her and her family, causing her to relapse into substance abuse and consider suicide.

A prosecutor said Vazquez Gongora stole Foster’s car after a night of drinking and partying because he and a teenage girl were stranded in Coronado.

Foster tried to stop the theft by jumping on the hood, and he held on for two to three miles as Vazquez swerved Gongora back and forth.

The vehicle crashed near the entrance to the Coronado Bridge, where Foster suffered injuries that later killed him.

Foster’s mother told ABC 10 News that he was an organ donor and that his lungs saved the life of a person in Israel.