A killer who massacred five people after neighbors complained he was waking up their baby by firing a gun into the air has pleaded guilty to murder.
The 2023 killings horrified Texas and the wider country. Francisco Oropeza entered a guilty plea on Wednesday to murder charges and accepted a life sentence without the chance for parole, according to prosecutor Todd Dillon.
Oropeza, a Mexican citizen, agreed to plead guilty to capital murder involving multiple victims, thereby dodging a potential death penalty. This decision came after the San Jacinto County District Attorney's office engaged in extensive discussions with the victims' relatives.
Despite having been deported from the U.S. four times between 2009 and 2016, immigration authorities have confirmed that Oropeza will now remain imprisoned for life in Texas. "He is not eligible for deportation. He is not eligible for anything," said Dillon.
"He will stay in the custody of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice until he breathes his last breath."
The guilty pleas were made by Oropeza after he heard the heart-wrenching testimonies from the victims' family members.
While Oropeza's lawyer, Anthony Osso Sr. , had previously indicated that there was a history of escalating tension between Oropeza and his neighbors.
According to police, Oropeza forcefully entered his neighbor's home on April 28, 2023, after being requested to stop late-night gunfire.
Two female victims were discovered in the bedroom lying on top of two surviving children, authorities have said.
According to Sheriff Greg Capers, multiple victims, all from the same family, were found shot "execution style" inside the family home.
Police have said they had asked the suspect to stop firing his weapon because they were trying to get their baby to sleep.
Wilson Garcia and two other people had gone to his neighbor’s house to “respectfully” ask that he shoot farther away from their home.
“He told us he was on his property, and he could do what he wanted,” Garcia said at the vigil for his nine-year-old son who was killed in the attack that soon followed.
Garcia, his slain wife and son and the other three victims — Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21; Julisa Molina Rivera, 31; and Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18 — were from Honduras.
The incident took place in the rural town of Cleveland, situated approximately 45 miles (72 kilometers) north of Houston. After the shooting, Oropeza reportedly fled the area, sparking an extensive manhunt.
He was eventually apprehended near Conroe, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) away from the scene of the crime.