BOISE, Idaho — This article originally appeared in the Idaho Press.
In January 2022 Jed Earls, 34, shot and killed 22-year-old James “Matt” Cuellar, an Ada County jury determined in May this year.
On Monday morning, Earls was sentenced to 50 years in prison — 20 years fixed and 30 years indeterminate — for second-degree murder by Judge Cynthia Yee-Wallace at the Ada County Courthouse. Earls was also charged with and sentenced to 15 years for a use of a deadly weapon enhancement, which will run concurrently with his second-degree murder sentence.
"I'm truly sorry for firing the shot that ended the life of Mr. Cuellar," Earls said in his statement to the court. "I was concerned about him from the time I called 911. I wish that I could bring him back."
This was Earls' first felony case, although he does have a record of abusing alcohol. According to Yee-Wallace, Earls began drinking at 11 and started drinking regularly at 15. His record shows a long history of drinking combined with criminal behavior, including two DUIs and an arrest for resisting and obstructing.
"(Earls) is excessively afraid," Yee-Wallace said before sentencing. "He lacks the courage to endure threats or things that are unpleasant. We’re not dealing with a monster, but the actions of Mr. Earls that night were cowardly."
While Earls has been detained, Yee-Wallace said she's received reports that Earls has been argumentative and disrespectful toward staff.
The shooting happened at Earls' home on Owyhee Street in Boise’s Vista neighborhood in the early hours of Jan. 15, 2022, where Earls, Cuellar and others were gathered for a get-together, as KTVB reported. Earls began picking on Cuellar and making fun of his appearance, KTVB reported. As Cuellar was leaving, Earls began fighting him over a case of beer. The situation escalated and Earls shot Cuellar in the chest. Cuellar died from his wounds six days later.
"I just can't wrap my head around why Jed wouldn't allow Matt to leave with the cheap box of beer," Yee-Wallace said.
Earls' trial in May lasted 12 days. He was found guilty after seven hours of jury deliberations.
Before receiving his sentence, Earls entered the courtroom quietly, wearing an orange jumpsuit, clean-shaven with a short haircut. Five people sat on the defense's side of the courtroom. The state's side of the courtroom was almost entirely filled with Cuellar's family members, two of whom gave victim impact statements — Cuellar's older sister Maribel Garcia and his grandmother, Enedina Flores.
There was not a dry eye on the prosecution's side of the courtroom throughout the duration of the sentencing process, which took around two hours.
"No earthly sentence can bring justice because it will never bring my brother back," Garcia said in her statement.
According to Garcia, after her brother's death she has watched her family members suffer. Garcia said that she fell into addiction and almost lost her life in the years following Cuellar's death.
"You did not only take Matt's life, but you tore up a family and shattered many hearts and lives," Flores said in her statement. "... What gave you the right to make that decision? Matt went out that night to have a fun time and never made it home. You bullied him all night long and that still was not enough for you."
Throughout her statement, Flores called Earls a bully, coward and cold-hearted. Flores said in the years following Cuellar's death she has struggled with depression and still has nightmares about his death. She sobbed the entire time she read her statement.
This article originally appeared in the Idaho Press, read more on IdahoPress.com.
