San Diego resident Miguel Anthony Rendon was simply 18 years previous when he was kidnapped, tortured and killed in Might 2020 by a gaggle of younger males in Tijuana. The gunman who shot him 5 instances within the head and left his physique in a trash-filled ravine was additionally 18 and nonetheless attending a Tijuana highschool.
On Wednesday, U.S. District Choose William Hayes sentenced the convicted killer, Brian Alexis Patron Lopez, to life in federal jail, telling Patron that he ruined his personal life when he took Rendon’s.
“You executed him … It was cold-blooded,” Hayes stated. “I think you had no idea what you were doing to yourself that day.”
Rendon’s mom instructed Patron, now 24, {that a} lifetime in custody — there is no such thing as a parole within the federal justice system — will give him a style of her struggling.
“As this man is sentenced to life today, I want him to understand that we are living a life sentence, too,” the mom stated throughout a sufferer influence assertion. “I want this man to carry the weight of what he did for the rest of his life.”
A San Diego federal jury convicted Patron in March on prices of intentional killing whereas engaged in drug trafficking, hostage taking leading to demise and conspiracy to take hostages leading to demise. The 2 hostage-taking prices each carried necessary minimal sentences of life in jail.
Protection legal professional Meghan Blanco argued {that a} life sentence for a defendant who was simply 18 on the time and had no prior legal report would violate Patron’s Eighth Modification proper in opposition to merciless and weird punishment. However Assistant U.S. Legal professional Mario Peia stated the statute was “black and white” and that Patron should be sentenced to nothing lower than life in jail.
Hayes agreed with the federal government and imposed life sentences for the 2 hostage-related prices and a 35-year sentence on the drug-trafficking depend.
“You literally walked the victim to his death,” Hayes instructed Patron, saying he couldn’t think about the concern Rendon will need to have felt in his closing moments. “He knew he was going to die alone, left with the trash on that hill.”
Blanco instructed the decide that Patron plans to attraction the sentence to the ninth U.S. Circuit Courtroom of Appeals.
The occasions that led to Rendon’s slaying started when he was arrested Might 27, 2020, whereas allegedly attempting to smuggle lower than a half-pound of methamphetamine into the U.S. by means of a pedestrian crossing lane from Tijuana to San Diego, in keeping with prosecutors. He was shortly launched from custody and obtained a discover to look in courtroom at a future date.
The subsequent day, he allegedly made an settlement with a drug trafficker to smuggle greater than 2 kilos of methamphetamine throughout the border, however he allegedly stole these medicine quickly after choosing them up, in keeping with prosecutors. He then used a doctored model of the courtroom discover to attempt to persuade the trafficker that U.S. authorities had seized the bigger quantity of medicine.
The trafficker and his associates by no means believed the ruse and kidnapped Rendon late that night time from a motel south of downtown Tijuana, in keeping with prosecutors. Surveillance footage from the motel allegedly confirmed Patron and others dragging Rendon from a storage beneath his room, beating him up after which forcing him right into a BMW. From there they took him to an empty subject the place they continued to beat him, then a close-by home and later to a second motel.
Each on the home and on the second motel, Patron and the opposite defendants contacted Rendon’s mom and stepfather, demanding cash or medicine in trade for his launch, prosecutors stated. The household was within the means of gathering the cash when the abductors reduce off contact.
Prosecutors alleged at trial that Patron was ultimately handed a revolver and instructed “to do what (he) had to do.” He and others allegedly took Rendon to a close-by ravine the place Patron shot and killed the San Diego teen. Prosecutors have stated that though Patron had no stake within the stolen medicine, he took a number one function within the abduction, torture and killing as a way to “up his status in the drug trafficking organization.”
Patron and his legal professional have maintained that he was not the shooter, arguing his co-defendants pinned accountability on him as a result of they have been arrested first and started cooperating earlier than Patron was taken into custody.
The decide disagreed.
“My conclusion after sitting through the trial … is (Patron) was the executioner,” Hayes stated.
The decide beforehand sentenced co-defendants Alan Lomeli Luna to 11 years and eight months in jail; Jonathan Emmanuel Montellano Mora to 10 years and 5 months; Wyatt Valencia Pacheco to 9 years and two months; and Luis Armando Dorantes Rivera Jr. to 5 years in jail.
Valencia, Montellano and Dorantes had every pleaded responsible to a cost of hostage-taking, whereas Dorantes additionally pleaded responsible to a kidnapping conspiracy cost. Lomeli pleaded responsible to a cost of intentional killing whereas engaged in drug trafficking, with prosecutors arguing that he acted as a lookout on the high of the ravine whereas Patron shot Rendon.
Patron had sought a brand new trial earlier this 12 months after a juror reported receiving a textual content message that she thought is perhaps associated to the case. Prosecutors argued the textual content was doubtless a spam message, and Hayes denied Patron’s movement, ruling the textual content had no affect on the decision.
As Wednesday’s listening to ended and U.S. Marshals started taking Patron away to serve the rest of his life in jail, Hayes instructed Patron, “I hope you find some purpose in life.”
The decide completed: “I hope you find mental peace, though given what you did, I think that may take longer than you think it will.”
