Suspects who lived in Modesto sought in murder-for-hire in Paso Robles. One man convicted
One of four men allegedly paid to beat and later kill a Paso Robles man in 2013 will spend the next two decades in prison, a San Luis Obispo Superior Court judge ruled Monday.
The San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office announced in a news release Tuesday that David Rodriguez Hernandez — who had been on the run for six years until his arrest in Mexico in February 2019 — was facing trial on charges of murder, conspiracy, assault with a deadly weapon and second-degree robbery.
He was accused of being one of four men paid a total of $12,000 by Maria del Carmen Granados Fajardo to kidnap and kill 37-year-old Victor Sanchez, Farjado’s ex-boyfriend, who was shot to death in the parking lot of a Paso Robles apartment building.
Rodriguez Hernandez, 45, was not accused of being the one who pulled the trigger.
After his extradition to the U.S., he accepted a plea agreement Nov. 30, pleading no contest to voluntary manslaughter with the use of a firearm in exchange for the dismissal of the murder count, according to court records. He also pleaded no contest to the conspiracy, assault, and robbery charges.
On Monday, Superior Court Judge Jacquelyn Duffy sentenced Rodriguez Hernandez, to 24 years and eight months in prison.
“This office and our local law enforcement will always continue to pursue justice by seeking and apprehending those responsible, even when they flee our jurisdiction,” San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow wrote in a news release. “This case is an example of our commitment to holding offenders accountable no matter where they go and try to hide.”
Sanchez was first assaulted on Oct. 6, 2012, with a tire iron, which left him with several broken bones, according to Tribune archives of Farjado’s trial.
On Feb. 23, 2013, the hired group returned to kidnap and shoot Sanchez in the knees, at the direction of Fajardo, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
But Sanchez resisted the kidnapping and was shot multiple times, according to past reporting.
Fajardo was convicted by a jury and sentenced to 21 years to life in prison in 2014.
Hernandez’s three alleged accomplices — Edgar Ontiveros, Louis Henry Madrigal and Alejandro Anguiano — remain at large and are believed to be in Mexico. They were last known to reside in Modesto. According to the criminal complaint, Ontiveros was the one who actually killed Sanchez.
The county District Attorney’s Office is seeking the public’s assistance in locating the fugitives. If you have any information, the agency asks you please call the District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigation at 805-781-4171. Persons wishing to remain anonymous can call the Crime Stoppers’ 24-hour hotline at 805-549-STOP (805-549-7867) or contact Crime Stoppers at slotips.org.
This story was originally published January 12, 2021 at 4:17 PM.
