Cornelius man sentenced to life in prison for shooting, killing Hillsboro bar manager in 2023

A Cornelius man has been sentenced to life in prison after murdering a woman at a Hillsboro bar in 2023 .

Sain Delgado Venegas pleaded guilty to second-degree murder Tuesday, Sept. 3, as well as two counts of first-degree attempted murder with a firearm.

Delgado Venegas and three others entered Kim’s Red Rose, a now-closed Hillsboro restaurant and bar, on April 1, 2023. When a bartender asked for their identification, the men refused and were asked to leave, according to authorities.

The group returned an hour later and sat in a different section; the bartender noticed them and alerted the manager, Isaura Soto-Gaona.

Both Soto-Gaona and the bartender asked them to leave again, which they did — aside from Delgado Venegas, who lingered near the doorway and attempted to fire a handgun at the employees.

After the gun malfunctioned when Delgado Venegas tried to discharge it twice, he racked the slide and fired a round at Soto-Gaona that hit her in the chest and killed her, law enforcement said.

The defendant was arrested days later, identified through surveillance footage from the bar and courthouse security cameras. At the time of the shooting, Delgado Venegas had recently been released from prison and had met with his parole officer just weeks prior.

While in custody, Delgado Venegas was also found with a makeshift weapon hidden in his jail cell during a routine contraband search. That sparked a separate case, in which Delgado Venegas also pleaded guilty to possession of a weapon by an inmate.

Delgado Venegas has a lengthy rap sheet in Oregon, according to court records. He pleaded guilty in January 2022 to several charges, including assaulting a public safety officer, a felony. He also has misdemeanor convictions on his record for driving under the influence of intoxicants, theft and fourth-degree assault.

Documents also show that the defendant currently faces charges for third-degree assault after allegedly causing physical injury to another person just three days after he pleaded guilty to the murder charges.

Delgado Venegas has the possibility of parole after 25 years; the life sentence will run consecutive to an additional eight-year prison sentence for the possession of a weapon case.