A 45-year-old man has been sentenced to 22 years in state prison for fatally shooting his ex-girlfriend's new boyfriend inside a North Long Beach home in 2023, in a case that began with an initial murder booking and later led to a plea. Oscar Alejandro Chan pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter on September 18, and a judge handed down the sentence at the same hearing.
According to the Press Telegram, Chan showed up unannounced at his ex-girlfriend's house, where he fought with 44-year-old Mario Gallegos, her new boyfriend, before shooting him in the upper body. Long Beach police were called to the home in the 6200 block of California Avenue just after 6:30 a.m. on May 10, 2023, and officers arriving on scene found Gallegos with the gunshot wound; he was taken to a hospital, and he later died, per the same report.
The address sits about one block east of Houghton Park in North Long Beach, according to the Long Beach Post, which identified the victim as Mario Gallegos. A city of Long Beach press release from the time of the incident said officers responded shortly after 6:30 a.m.; Gallegos was taken to a hospital, and he later died.
Suspect Caught Hours Later in Santa Fe Springs
Chan was arrested later that day in Santa Fe Springs, the Press Telegram reported.
He was initially booked on suspicion of murder, being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, and illegal possession of ammunition, with bail set at $2 million, according to the city's press release.
How a Manslaughter Plea Reached 22 Years
Chan's voluntary-manslaughter plea resulted in a 22-year state-prison sentence.
North Long Beach's Shifting Homicide Numbers
The shooting happened during a year when Long Beach recorded 26 homicides citywide, its lowest annual total since 2017, when the city logged 22 killings, according to Long Beach Post reporting on police crime statistics. That relative calm didn't last in the neighborhood where Gallegos was killed. Homicides in the Long Beach Police Department's North Division, which covers North Long Beach, doubled from 6 in 2023 to 12 in 2024, with the Long Beach Post reporting that the North and East divisions drove most of the citywide 46% jump to 38 homicides that year.
