DJ Quik’s son, David Blake Jr., received a 15-year-to-life prison sentence Friday for the 2022 murder of Julio Moises Cardoza Jr. in Downey.
Blake was convicted on December 4 of second-degree murder and shooting from a motor vehicle charges. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Laura Walton struck gun enhancement allegations that could have added 25 years to life.
Blake worked as a liaison to then-Compton City Councilman Isaac Galvan when the May 25, 2022, shooting occurred.
The 31-year-old drove Galvan to the Cardoza family home, where a confrontation erupted between the councilman and residents. Blake fired multiple shots from inside his vehicle after claiming he saw a shotgun pointed at him.
“I’m sorry for the role I had in Julio Moises Cardoza Jr.’s death and my heart aches for the Cardozas,” Blake said during sentencing. “I was truly in fear for my life and believed I was going to die.”
The victim’s mother, Elida Cardoza, told the court through a Spanish interpreter about watching her son die.
“There is no greater pain than having your son die in your arms,” she said. “I yelled at him not to leave me and realized that his soul was leaving his body.”
DJ Quik broke his silence about the conviction in a December video statement posted online.
“I’m disappointed that I didn’t get in front of that story and share the sentencing with my son,” DJ Quik said. “The reality of all of this is that two families are irrevocably changed forever.”
Blake had no prior criminal record and received 27 character reference letters from community members.
His defense attorney, Joseph Gutierrez, argued the shooting resulted from a “sudden, rapidly escalating confrontation” and requested reduced charges.
The prosecution maintained that Blake illegally carried a loaded firearm and blamed the victim for the deadly encounter.
Judge Walton acknowledged Blake shouldn’t have been at the Cardoza home that evening and was “following orders of his boss.”
Blake will be eligible for parole consideration after serving the minimum 15-year sentence.
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