Samuel Garcia was found guilty of three counts related to the 2017 murder of Jesus Avila Monday morning at the Lyon County District Court.
Judge Jeff Larson found Garcia, one of six suspects in the murder of 19-year-old Avila, guilty of conspiracy to commit murder, murder in the second degree and conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery.
Garcia, 23, accepted a plea agreement with the State of Kansas on the three charges, down from the original six counts. Garcia pleaded no contest to all three counts. Avila’s family was also notified of the agreement.
Garcia was accused of shooting Avila twice in the head at Sacred Heart Cemetery on Sept. 5, 2017. Avila’s body was later found in a burned car in rural Lyon County with two gunshot wounds to the back of his head.
The charges have a maximum sentence of over 106 years and up to $600,000 in fines, however, under the agreement, the State has agreed to not ask for more than 360 months, or 30 years.
Other suspects include Armando Nunez, who is now in prison after reaching a plea bargain on lesser offenses. Jordy Cornejo-Campoverde reached an undisclosed plea deal in April 2022. Andrew Granado and Jovan Pecina will appear for status conferences in May 11. Alan Alanis is scheduled to appear for a hearing at 2 p.m. July 14 in courtroom 4.
Garcia is currently serving seven years on other charges.
Garcia will also be a registered offender for life and cannot appeal the finding of guilt or the sentencing, set for Aug. 9 at 1:15 p.m.
(3) comments
Emporia and the Hispanic community appreciates justice being upheld in the death of Jesus Avila and these young men who took his life and want to see that they are punished to the full extent of the law. The parents of these murderers should be ashamed. Aim, if you're correct, I agree! The punishment should fit the crime!
30 years max... just wow... This guy should spend the rest of his life in prison... You don't see many people who commit first degree murder get such a light sentence. Wonder if this age at the time of the crime is the reason he's getting off this easy...
Whatever the reason, it makes the county attorneys office look like they are too LAZY to have a trial. Allowing him to plead "nolo contendre" (which means he does NOT admit any guilt) just looks bad. The murderer gets to avoid all the court hearings and the 106 years in prison in exchange for.... nothing. At the very least he should have to admit his guilt to get such a huge reduction to his sentence. Just my opinion.
I agree with you in part, Aim. But the lazy part, no. I really think they want to avoid the costs of yet another trial regarding this case. But yes, 30 years max for murder seems very slight. I wonder if he thought nolo contendre would get him a far lighter sentence than this? Nonetheless, he will only be in his 50's when he gets out. May as well be life, I suppose, because then he will be just another empty carcass roaming the streets. I wonder what another trial would have cost us? In all of this, I can't help but wonder what went wrong in this kid's early life? What caused him to behave this way? What about parents? Too late now. All he has left now is to toughen up for what is to come. Stupid kid!
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