El Cajon

In an emotional hearing packed with family members, a 21-year-old man was sentenced Friday to 32 years to life in prison for shooting into a crowd at a La Mesa party earlier this year.

Nadir Jamil Mikhail of El Cajon was convicted by a jury Sept. 26 of second-degree murder in the death of 19-year-old Robbie Allen Loftis of Lemon Grove. He also was convicted of attempted second-degree murder for the wounding of 19-year-old Charles Hall of Spring Valley.

In handing down the sentence, Superior Court Judge Herbert J. Exarhos cited Mikhail’s “callousness” and acts of prior violence.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Gordon Davis said Mikhail had shot another man several years ago and had been arrested in Detroit three years ago for illegal possession of a weapon.

“He’s a young man, and (the sentence is) a long time, but he’s a violent man who kills people,” Davis said.

During a confrontation at the party on Explorer Road, authorities say Mikhail pulled a semiautomatic 9-millimeter pistol from his waistband and fired 10 shots.

During the trial, defense attorney Jan Ronis argued that Mikhail fired the shots because he felt threatened by a group of drunken men and that the shots were intended as a warning.