11 People Sentenced for the Murder of Jalisco Ex-Governor Aristóteles Sandoval

 "MX" for Borderland Beat

Security footage showed that several bar employees "manipulated" the crime scene by cleaning up the blood in a coordinated way and by tampering with the security cameras.

In a short and swift trial, 11 people were sentenced for the homicide of Jalisco ex-governor Aristoteles Sandoval. The Prosecutor's Office in Jalisco was able to provide evidences to a judge that proved that 11 employees from the bar where Sandoval was murdered had helped covered up the crime. All of the defendants pleaded guilty and agreed that they had tapered the crime scene by cleaning up the blood and removing security cameras.

Per Mexico's National Code of Criminal Procedures, all of the defendants were able to get a reduced sentence for pleading guilty. They will face the rest of their sentence in prison but are eligible to pay a penalty fee and fulfil it as a free person.

With this court decision, 12 people have been sentenced for Sandoval's murder since December 2020. At least 2 people have paid their penalty fees and are no longer behind bars.

The bar employees sentenced were: Loot “N”; Christian Jhovanny “N”; Abner Abraham “N”; Alonso “N”; Oscar “N”; José Everardo “N”; Alexis Omar “N”; Edgar “N”; Juan Orlando “N”; Iliana “N” and María del Rocío “N”.

Murder 

Sandoval was having dinner with a few companions at a bar in Puerto Vallarta on the evening of 18 December 2020. When Sandoval got up from a table to head to the restroom, an unidentified killer shot him several times in the back. The shooter then fled the venue.

Sandoval was not killed instantly. When his bodyguards tried to get him out of the restroom and take him to the nearest hospital, gunmen waiting outside opened fire on them. One of the bodyguards was seriously wounded in the attack. His bodyguards were able to take him to the hospital, but Sandoval was announced death shortly upon arrival.

Manhunt 

The two suspected assassins involved in the attack at still at large. Jalisco state authorities are offering up to MXN$1 million (approximately US$50,000) to anyone that provides valuable information that leads to the capture of the couple.

Last week, the apartment complex located on Prisciliano Sánchez Street and Francisco Medina Ascencio Boulevard, in Puerto Vallarta, was cordoned by agents of the Prosecutor's Office and elements of the Mexican Navy after receiving a complaint that the couple was possibly living there. It turned out to be a false lead.

Sources: Animal Politico; Borderland Beat archives