Man Sentenced to 51 Years for Murder Outside Union City Bar

UNION CITY, CA - A San Jose man was sentenced Friday to 51 years to life in state prison for fatally shooting a Salinas man in the parking lot of a Union City nightclub two years ago in what police said appeared to be a fit of jealousy.

Kenneth Throne Young, 55, who was sentenced by Alameda County Superior Court Judge Thomas Rogers, was convicted of first-degree murder last year for the shooting death of Tjorn Ernis MaGee in the parking lot of The Spot bar at 32611 Alvarado Blvd. in Union City at about 11:45 p.m. on March 27, 2015.

Officers who responded to the scene found MaGee suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

A second suspect, 55-year-old Gary Wayne Gates, of East Palo Alto, was also arrested in connection with the shooting and stood trial with Young on a charge of being an accessory after the fact but jurors found him not guilty.

Union City police said witnesses in the area of the shooting told investigators that the suspects got into a white van after the shooting.

Several Fremont police officers saw a van matching the witness description and stopped the van on Interstate Highway 680 near Washington Boulevard in their city, according to police.

Gates and Young were arrested at the car stop and police said an investigation confirmed they were the suspects in MaGee's death.

Police said it appeared that the motive in the case was jealousy regarding an ex-girlfriend and her interaction with MaGee.

- Bay City News / Image via Shutterstock