A Mexican man who killed five of his neighbors in Cleveland, Texas, because they complained about him shooting his gun at night will never walk free again.
A San Jacinto County District Court judge handed Francisco Oropeza a life term in prison without the possibility of parole for the shooting death of Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25; Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21; Julisa Molina Rivera, 31; Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18; and Daniel Enrique Laso, 8. To avoid the death penalty, Oropeza pleaded guilty to capital murder after the victim’s family gave prosecutors the approval to offer the defendant a plea deal.
"The consensus was that a plea 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," said District Attorney Todd Dillon, according to ABC 13.
Around midnight on April 28, 2023, officers responded along the 100 Block of Walters Road after reports of multiple shootings. According to prosecutors, Oropeza had been shooting an AR-15 rifle at his home when another neighbor, Wilson Garcia, who survived the ordeal, asked the defendant to desist from shooting and scaring the child at their home. Enraged, Oropeza loaded the rifle, forced his way into their home, and started shooting the occupants before fleeing the scene.
After four days, border patrol agents in Conroe found the defendant at the home of his girlfriend, Divimara Nava, and his aunt, hiding under a load of laundry. Oropeza, who had previously been deported four times between 2009 and 2016, was immediately placed in custody.
“He is not eligible for deportation. He is not eligible for anything. He will stay in the custody of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice until he breathes his last breath,” said Dillon, reported NBC News.
Oropeza’s lawyer, Anthony Osso Sr., told several media outlets that the tension between Oropeza and his neighbors had been brewing for a while before the fatal incident.
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