A judge sentenced a man to 56 years in prison Thursday for killing two teenagers with a semiautomatic rifle during a gang brawl in Eastridge Park.

Fourth Judicial District Judge Timothy J. Schutz imposed the sentence on Juan Manuel Vasquez, 21, whom a jury convicted of second-degree murder in the Jan. 8, 2009, deaths of Uriel Rascon, 18, and Luis Burciaga, 17.

Schutz recalled a statement Vasquez gave to an El Paso County sheriff’s investigator shortly after the shooting. “I did what I had to do,” said Vasquez, who claimed that he fired in self-defense to protect his girlfriend during the melee.

“I would say that’s not true,” the judge told Vasquez. “There were a multitude of choices that you could have made other than to bring a rifle to this fight.”

The sentence fell on the upper end of a possible range of 20 to 64 years. Schutz announced his decision after hearing often emotional testimony from both the victims’ and defendant’s families, who had packed the courtroom.

“Today we come to ask for justice for my son’s death,” said Guadalupe Burciaga, who asked for the maximum punishment.

“Luis’ death has left me empty and hollow,” she said.

As for Vasquez, she said he was trying to show that he was “the most macho man in the world” that day in the park.

“He had no pity, so why should he ask for pity now?” she asked.

The defendant’s father, Juan Vasquez Sr., asked for mercy, noting that families on both sides of the shooting were hurt that day.

“We are suffering very much, just as they are,” he said. “And it’s my son who made that mistake. He has to pay for it.”

When the defendant spoke, his words were barely audible through his sobs. The judge asked him to speak up.

“I’m sorry for what I did,” he said. “I want to apologize … for what I’ve done.”

Prosecutors had charged Vasquez with first-degree murder, arguing that he brought a rifle to a fistfight that day.

But jurors found him guilty on the lesser charge of second-degree murder, finding that he acted out of “provoked passion.”

In weighing the sentence, Schutz said he took into consideration Vasquez’s age – he was 19 at the time of the murder – and his lack of any prior felony convictions.

But the judge said Vasquez’s age was a minor factor compared to the “unspeakable pain” that Vasquez had caused the victims’ families.

He urged those families to put aside their anger and thoughts of vengeance.

“I’d encourage you to do that – not for Mr. Vasquez, but for yourselves, so that your hearts will be free of any negative feelings,” the judge said.

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