Man sentenced to 19 years to life in prison in shooting death of former boss in Point Loma
Nicolas Brito Rosales, 57, was convicted of second-degree murder for killing Jalal ‘Joe’ Abou, 63, in April 2011.
A man who fatally shot his former boss at the victim’s Point Loma auto repair shop more than a decade ago was sentenced March 4 to 19 years to life in state prison.
Nicolas Brito Rosales, 57, was convicted by a San Diego jury Sept. 24 of second-degree murder for killing Jalal “Joe” Abou, 63, on April 19, 2011.
On that morning, Abou — an Iraq native and father of three who lived in Rancho San Diego — was found lying in a parking lot at his Rosecrans Street business, Joe’s Auto Repair. He died at the scene.
Get Point Loma-OB Monthly in your inbox every month
News and features about Point Loma and Ocean Beach every month for free
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Point Loma-OB Monthly.
According to authorities, witnesses told investigators that before the shooting, they saw a man parked near the business in a dark green sedan with primer spots on it and saw him driving away immediately afterward.
At the time of the shooting, Rosales had not worked at Abou’s business for about six months. The circumstances of how he left the job were unclear.
Rosales was arrested in Mexico and extradited to the United States in late 2017, but he was ruled incompetent to stand trial the following year, meaning he was deemed unable to understand the charges against him and assist his attorney at trial.
Rosales also was ruled incompetent at a bench trial in 2019, but was found competent to stand trial last year.