A 22-year-old Arizona man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for fatally shooting a 66-year-old man in the parking lot of a buffet restaurant in Avondale.
Roberto Antonio Trejo received the sentence after pleading guilty in April to second-degree murder in the death of Frank Vitale. The shooting took place shortly after noon on October 14, 2024, outside Number 1 Buffet.
Vitale had just finished lunch and was sitting in his car when Trejo approached without warning and fired a handgun through the window before fleeing. The two men did not know each other and no motive was identified.
Trejo was arrested about 45 minutes later while carrying a handgun. He had been released from prison five months earlier after an aggravated assault conviction and was on probation at the time.
Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said in a statement that no amount of time could make up for the pain caused and that the sentence removes a threat from the community.