SAN JACINTO COUNTY, Texas – A man who shot and killed five people in San Jacinto County in 2023 will spend the rest of his life in prison after accepting a plea deal, according to the San Jacinto County Criminal District Attorney’s Office.
As part of the deal, Francisco Oropeza pled guilty to capital murder for the deaths of Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25, Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21, Julisa Molina Rivera, 31, Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18, and Daniel Enrique Laso, 9.
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He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on Wednesday.
The San Jacinto County Criminal District Attorney’s Office says the plea deal was only extended to Oropeza’s defense counsel after several meetings with the families of Oropeza’s victims and the prosecution team.
“These meetings were conducted in Spanish and did not conclude until all of the family members questions were answered and until they were able to voice their opinions on punishment to senior members of the District Attorney’s Office. In the end, the consensus was that a plea of life without parole would spare the trauma and risk of a trial while assuring that Oropeza will suffer the consequences of his actions until he dies. Follow-up meetings were also conducted in Spanish, to ensure this was the just and desired result,” the district attorney’s office said. “The projected cost of a single death-capital murder trial would have exceeded the county’s annual budget for court-appointed attorneys by 400%. Further, no trial has a guaranteed result, and the financial strain of appeals would continue after the trial.”
The shooting happened on April 28, 2023. Authorities say Oropeza had been shooting his rifle in his yard, and a neighbor asked if he could stop because they had a baby that was trying to sleep inside. The suspect reportedly told the victims he would do what he wanted.
Moments later, Oropeza went into the family’s home and opened fire, killing the five people.
After a dayslong manhunt, Oropeza was located and arrested in the city of Cut and Shoot. San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers said the suspect was found inside a home, hiding in the closet under a pile of clothes.
In June 2023, Oropeza was indicted on a capital murder of multiple persons charge, which would allow prosecutors to seek the death penalty.
“Oropeza will never breathe another breath of free air for the rest of his life, and San Jacinto county will never have to worry that he is a threat to any of its citizens,” said San Jacinto County Criminal District Attorney B. Todd Dillon.