Paul Coilton was charged with fatally shooting Steven Edward Lopez in November. He pleaded no contest to murder last month.

A judge on Wednesday sentenced an Arizona man to 50 years to life in prison for the fatal shooting of a Stockton man whose body was found last November near Petaluma .

Paul Coilton, 59, of Salome, Arizona, sat silently in Sonoma County Superior Court as Judge Laura Passaglia handed down the sentence, making the end of a case that has left a family shattered.

Coilton pleaded no contest to the Nov. 10, 2024, murder of Steven Edward Lopez, 42, a conviction that came with sentencing enhancements for discharging a firearm and causing great bodily injury.

He has at least two prior felony convictions for other crimes, including a 1983 robbery in San Francisco and a 1991 assault with a firearm in Stockton.

Lopez’s family attended the sentencing, including his son, also named Steven Lopez, who gave an emotional statement in court about the lasting pain of his father’s killing.

“Every success, every milestone will carry the weight of his absence,” he told the judge.

He added his world was “shattered by one selfish act.”

Coilton did not speak during the hearing, and records offering insight into his motive or any connection to Lopez were not immediately available.

Authorities have not disclosed how Coilton ended up in San Jose, where he was arrested the day after the shooting.

Sheriff’s deputies found Lopez’s body Nov. 10 near Lakeville Highway and Stage Gulch Road , but officials have yet to publicly detail the circumstances of the killing.

A no-contest plea means Coilton does not dispute the prosecution’s case but does not admit guilt. He has been held without bail at the Sonoma County jail since his arrest.