Northern California Man Sentenced for Murder of Bally Total Fitness Member

A Northern California man was sentenced to 17 years to life in prison on Monday for the 2014 murder of a member inside a Bally Total Fitness gym.

Kenneth Osako, 46, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder earlier this year in a plea deal with prosecutors, according to a report from The Associated Press. Osako attacked Diego Galindo, 43, in the South San Francisco Bally Total Fitness on Sept. 17, 2014. Osako pleaded not guilty in the case a month later.

According to prosecutors, Galindo had been talking to Osako's girlfriend at the club two days prior and jokingly asked her to take a ride on his motorcycle. Police said Osako got into a confrontation with Galindo and "used a solid steel bar, normally used to lift weights, to strike the victim on his head several times."

San Mateo County Superior Court Judge John Grandsaert said Oskao deserved the maximum sentence allowed after he brought the steel bar "down full force" on Galindo, according to a San Francisco Chronicle report. Osako attributed the attack to a steroid and methamphetamine rage, according to the Chronicle. Osako apologized for his actions in front of Galindo's family at Monday's sentencing and was ordered to pay $20,000 in restitution to the Galindo family.