Appeals court overturns felony-murder conviction in 2022 North Park killing

A state appeals court has reversed the first-degree murder conviction of Alberto Barraza in the March 2022 death of 23-year-old Nikko Guardado in North Park, Times of San Diego reports. Barraza was sentenced to 26 years to life in March 2025.

According to the report, prosecutors said Barraza entered a parked car where Guardado was sleeping, intending to cut off his ponytail, and a struggle over a knife followed in which Guardado was stabbed in the leg and an artery was severed. The prosecution's felony-murder theory rested on the hair-cutting being a robbery.

A three-judge panel of the Fourth District Court of Appeal held that hair still attached to a person is not personal property that can be stolen, so there was no robbery and the felony-murder rule did not apply. The panel described the stabbing as closer to assault with a deadly weapon, the report says.

The District Attorney's office said it is reviewing the ruling with the state Attorney General's office and has not decided on next steps. It is not yet clear what happens to Barraza next. This story relies on Times of San Diego's account of the ruling.