A man who fatally shot another man in San Diego, then burned the victim’s body in National City, pleaded guilty this week to charges of voluntary manslaughter and mutilation of human remains.
Juan Carlos Acosta-Sanchez, 43, is expected to be sentenced in Chula Vista Superior Court to nearly 17 years in state prison for the killing of 55-year-old Jaime Barba.
Barba’s body was discovered at the scene of a Harbison Avenue fire that National City firefighters responded to just after 1:30 a.m. Oct. 5, 2022.
Investigators determined that Barba had suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was killed in San Diego two days before the fire, according to San Diego police homicide Lt. Steve Shebloski.
The lieutenant said Acosta-Sanchez and Barba knew each other and met up in the Egger Highlands neighborhood on Oct. 3, where Barba was shot during an argument. Acosta-Sanchez was arrested in Imperial Beach on Oct. 7.
