Former prosecutor Mark Gonzalez is defending a former Calavera member who was charged with murder after he retired in 2019

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Emmanuel Cantu, arrested in connection with a fatal shooting in 2019, accepted a plea deal that allowed him to walk out of a Nueces County courtroom Thursday morning as a free man.

Cantu was charged with murder after killing 36-year-old Sandalio Zuniga and wounding two others. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter on Thursday, meaning he will not be a convicted felon.

The Calavera motorcycle club member was defended by Abel Cavada and former prosecutor Mark Gonzalez, who spoke to 3NEWS about the trial and what the defense’s decision to accept a plea deal means for Cantu.

“He will be placed on community supervision for 10 years on deferred adjudication,” Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez is also a Calavera. He initially recused himself from the case while serving as Nueces County prosecutor in 2019.

“The outcome is probably not usual for someone charged with murder,” Gonzalez said. “The facts of the case and what happened can present a challenge to a state and even to the defendant.”

“When they offered probation, we decided the risk was too great. So we accepted the consent form.”

RELATED: District Attorney Mark Gonzalez resigns ahead of Senate run for impeachment trial

Gonzalez, a member of the Calavera motorcycle club, recused himself from the case while serving as Nueces County prosecutor in 2019.

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