Killers of 4 on turnpike get death sentence
WEST PALM BEACH (AP) – Two men were sentenced to death Wednesday for the drug-debt slaying of a family of four on the side of a Florida highway, including two young boys who died in their mother’s arms.
Daniel Troya, 26, and co-defendant Ricardo Sanchez Jr., 25, both received two death sentences, for the two child victims, and five life terms each at separate hearings. District Judge Daniel T.K. Hurley called Troya “enormously dangerous” and gave each man additional years in prison on lesser counts.
The sentencings marked the first imposition of a federal death penalty in Florida since the federal government reinstated capital punishment in 1988.
“I must confess I have no confidence that Mr. Troya would not do this again if the opportunity presented itself,” the judge said before reading Troya’s sentence.
Troya, who like Sanchez was shackled at the waist and guarded by four bailiffs, offered an apology during his court session.
“First and foremost, to the victims and family members, I would like to apologize,” he said. “Basically, I’m sorry to my family, the people that put faith in me to be good.”
He also apologized for throwing a plastic water bottle at prosecutors in March after a jury recommended the death penalty for both men. As he was led from the courtroom, Troya nodded to his mother, father and sister, who were silently crying.
The judge said Troya grew up in a “wonderful family” and added, “I have no idea how Mr. Troya got to be the person he is today, but he is an enormously dangerous person who has no regard for the taking of a human life.”
Troya and Sanchez were convicted March 5 of killing Jose Luis Escobedo, 28; his wife, Yessica Guerrero Escobedo, 25; and their sons, Luis Julian, 4, and Luis Damian, 3. Their bodies were found in the grass alongside Florida’s Turnpike on Oct. 13, 2006, shot at close range.
The victims had moved to Palm Beach County from the Brownsville, Texas, area a few months before they were killed.
Prosecutors say Jose Escobedo was involved in a drug ring with the defendants. They said Troya and Sanchez killed him and his family to settle a debt, then stole 15 kilograms of cocaine from Escobedo.