{"id":2912,"date":"2026-06-24T07:09:22","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T07:09:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2912"},"modified":"2026-06-24T07:09:22","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T07:09:22","slug":"may-god-have-mercy-on-your-soul-man-sentenced-in-girlfriends-shooting-death-at-fremont-hotel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2912","title":{"rendered":"‘May god have mercy on your soul’: Man sentenced in girlfriend’s shooting death at Fremont hotel"},"content":{"rendered":"
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An Alameda County man received an 11-year term in prison Tuesday in a case that long revolved around a central question: Did he murder his girlfriend during an argument at a Fremont hotel, or did she turn the .40-caliber gun on herself?<\/p>\n

Read more \u2018Looking for bodies\u2019: FBI, other agencies descend on Miranda\u2019s Rescue to dig for further evidence<\/a><\/p>\n

Nolan Hurd, 26, sat silent and unflinching while being handed the sentence by Superior Court Judge Jennifer Madden Ragland, who openly questioned the man\u2019s remorse in the January 2022 death of his girlfriend, Nikha Marcella DeGuzman. It marked the final chapter in a case that included a mistrial last summer, followed by Hurd\u2019s recent plea of no contest to voluntary manslaughter.<\/p>\n

As part of the plea deal struck last month, Alameda County prosecutors agreed to dismiss two other cases Hurd racked up while behind bars, including assault charges stemming from the brutal beating and stabbing of another Santa Rita Jail inmate. Hurd was seen fist-bumping another attacker moments after deputies intervened, Madden Ragland said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know if you will be the kind of person who goes to prison and tries to make changes,\u201d the judge said, addressing Hurd directly. \u201cOr I don\u2019t know if you see this as some kind of a flex, for lack of a better word, that you got 11 years, as opposed to maybe the amount of time that you should be getting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Madden Ragland said she only signed off on the deal after seeing how intensely prosecutors and Hurd\u2019s attorney litigated the case. Hurd will begin his sentence with nearly five years of credit for time served.<\/p>\n

Several of DeGuzman\u2019s friends and family wanted a harsher punishment.<\/p>\n

For an hour Tuesday, more than a dozen of DeGuzman\u2019s friends and family openly wept while recalling her as a \u201cgoofy\u201d young woman, prolific makeup artist and loyal friend \u201cwho genuinely cared about the people in her life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is an empty place where Nikha should be,\u201d said her grandmother, Arlene Velasquez. \u201cOur family lost someone whose life was only beginning. No punishment can restore a future she was denied, or heal a pain her death has caused.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

At times, that grief turned to vitriolic anger.<\/p>\n

Anabel Velasquez, who attended every court hearing and described herself during the trial as a second mother to DeGuzman, told the judge Tuesday she felt \u201cdevastated\u201d by the plea deal. She understood why prosecutors \u2014 who worked \u201ctirelessly on the case\u201d \u2014 struck a deal. Even so, she said the prison sentence felt \u201cprofoundly disproportionate\u201d to the loss her family suffered.<\/p>\n

Sitting mere feet from Hurd, Velasquez assailed him as \u201ca pathetic human being, a straight coward so consumed by power and control that when Nikha challenged him, and saw through him, he snapped.<\/p>\n

\u201cMay god have mercy on your soul, because after what you did to her, I have none left to give.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

For years, questions lingered over whether DeGuzman, 20, died by homicide or suicide.<\/p>\n

On the evening of Jan. 27, 2022, guests of Fremont\u2019s Good Nite Inn reported hearing an argument between a man and a woman, followed by a single gunshot. A minute or two passed before anyone began calling for help, the neighbors told investigators, adding they saw DeGuzman run or crawl naked from the room, while Hurd tried to pull her back by the waist.<\/p>\n

Read more Kurtenbach: Boris Diaw 2.0? Yaxel Lendeborg is the cure for the Warriors\u2019 identity crisis<\/a><\/p>\n

When Hurd phoned 911, he could be heard yelling, \u201cMy girlfriend just shot herself,\u201d along with \u201cshe shot herself in the head,\u201d and \u201cstay with me, stay with me, baby,\u201d according to court testimony. Meanwhile, DeGuzman wailed in the background.<\/p>\n

At trial, Alameda County prosecutor Michiye Vella told jurors that Hurd used fear and even physical violence to bend DeGuzman to his will, as part of a \u201ctoxic\u201d relationship. Hurd was the only one with gunshot residue on his hands after the shooting, Vella said. And the trajectory of the fatal bullet \u2014 which entered through the lower back left side of DeGuzman\u2019s head and exited out the conch of her left ear \u2014 eliminated the possibility of DeGuzman shooting herself, the prosecutor claimed.<\/p>\n

Yet Hurd took the uncommon step of taking the stand in his defense \u2014 breaking down in tears while describing his shock at emerging from the hotel\u2019s bathroom that night to see DeGuzman holding the gun and refusing to make eye contact with him. Hurd testified that he tried to disarm DeGuzman \u2014 who had previously been diagnosed with major depressive disorder and had a history of suicide attempts \u2014 and then scrambled to call 911 after the gun went off.<\/p>\n

After days of deliberation, the jury failed to reach a verdict. Nine jurors favored finding Hurd guilty of second-degree murder, while eight thought he was guilty of involuntary manslaughter, according to the Alameda County District Attorney\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n

In a statement read aloud in court Tuesday, Hurd\u2019s aunt lamented how \u201cwe all lost someone that day, not just Nikki\u2019s family.\u201d She recalled being close to DeGuzman herself, adding \u201cI miss our long talks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou were a part of our family, like the diamond you are up there,\u201d said the aunt, Tiffany Pantohan. \u201cAs this case comes to a close, I hope this brings peace not only to my family, but to hers as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sitting in yellow jail garb and shackled at his hands and feet, Hurd himself briefly spoke up near the end of his hearing \u2014 vowing that \u201cI will be spending the remainder of my sentence in preparation to become rehabilitated.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMost importantly, here today, I\u2019d like to to apologize for any pain I caused those in this courtroom,\u201d Hurd added.<\/p>\n

By that time, the judge had already cast doubt on his sincerity. Moments earlier, she questioned whether any of the tearful pleas and remembrances uttered by DeGuzman\u2019s family and friends truly registered with him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t have much confidence that those words will penetrate Mr. Hurd and make a difference,\u201d the judge said.\u00a0\u201cI always try to see the best in human beings. But I\u2019m not sure, Mr. Hurd, that you really heard the words \u2014 that you understand what this family has been through.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jakob Rodgers is a senior breaking news reporter. Call, text or send him an encrypted message via Signal at 510-390-2351, or email him at jrodgers@bayareanewsgroup.com.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more Warriors GM Dunleavy explains animated interaction with Joe Lacob before drafting Lendeborg<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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