EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – Three people pleaded guilty this week in different cases, which resulted in prison time, the El Paso District Attorney’s Office announced on Wednesday, April 30, in a news release.
The DA’s Office said that Jan Carlo Castillo, 25, and Cesar Alejandro Roa, 25, of Horizon City, pleaded guilty to murder on Thursday, April 17, in separate cases. Victor Hugo Escobedo, 53, of New Mexico, pleaded guilty on Thursday, April 24, to aggravated robbery and two counts of aggravated kidnapping with a deadly weapon.
Jan Carlo Castillo
Castillo pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to 45 years in state prison for breaking into another man’s apartment and attacking him with a machete in 2023 at a Lower Valley apartment complex, the DA’s Office said.
The DA’s Office said Brian Valentin Almanza, 34, was found dead in September 2023 by his former wife. She had told El Paso Police Department (EPPD) officers that they would message every day, and she felt something was wrong when he didn’t respond for two days.
She went to Almanza’s apartment on the 9100 block of Kernel Circle in the Lower Valley and found his door slightly ajar with signs of forced entry. She spotted him inside, covered in blood, and called 911, the DA’s Office said.
EPPD said Almanza had multiple large slashes and lacerations over his body.
The DA’s Office said EPPD used the apartment complex surveillance video to identify Castillo, who was spotted jaywalking on Alameda Avenue weeks later after the incident. He was arrested after a short chase.
“Mr. Almanza was brutally killed with no apparent motive,” District Attorney James Montoya said. “His killer was apprehended thanks to the outstanding investigative work by the El Paso Police Department and the witnesses who were willing to provide information. My Office is committed to working tirelessly to ensure that dangerous defendants are removed from our community.”
Assistant District Attorney Enrique Esparza represented the State of Texas in the prosecution of the case.
Cesar Alejandro Roa
The DA’s Office said Roa pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to 30 years in state prison for shooting and killing a 16-year-old girl and leaving her body in a far East El Paso alleyway in 2023.
He also pleaded guilty to two charges related to the manufacturing and delivery of controlled substances, for which he was sentenced to 10 years for each drug charge and will be served concurrently, the DA’s Office said.
The DA’s Office said that in February 2023, EPPD officers were called to the 14300 block of Coyote Trail Drive about an unattended death. The body of Jazmine Estrella Adame, 16, was found in the alley with a gunshot wound to the back of her neck.
EPPD investigators later learned that Adame, with several friends, had come up with a plan to steal drugs from a person they met on social media. During the deal, one of the friends grabbed the drugs, and they all ran off, the DA’s Office said.
The DA’s Office said that as they ran, the drug dealer, later identified as Roa, opened fire, striking Adame. One of Adame’s friends who heard about the shooting went with her mother to the scene, found Adame’s body, and called 911.
Through interviews with Adame’s friends and by scouring social media and residential surveillance footage, EPPD investigators identified the shooter as Roa. He was arrested in March 2023, the DA’s Office said.
“Ms. Adame had her whole life in front of her and she should still be here,” Montoya said. “Drug dealing and drug trafficking are inherently dangerous activities and far too many young El Pasoans have lost their lives in robberies like this one.”
“If you commit acts of violence, we will hold you accountable and you will go to prison,” Montoya added.
Assistant District Attorneys Talisa Gutierrez and Jose Garcia represented the State of Texas in the prosecution of the case.
Victor Hugo Escobedo
The DA’s Office said Escobedo pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery and two counts of aggravated kidnapping with a deadly weapon and was sentenced to 7 years in state prison for kidnapping a woman and her child at gunpoint from the Cielo Vista Mall parking lot and forcing her to withdraw thousands of dollars of cash from a bank last year.
In September 2024, EPPD officers were called to the Cielo Vista Mall parking lot about a
kidnapping and robbery, the DA’s Office said.
The DA’s Office said the victim told officers she and her 2-year-old daughter were in the mall parking lot when a man she didn’t know approached them, flashed a handgun, then forced her into her truck.
She said the man ordered her to drive to a nearby bank and then told her to go into the bank to withdraw $5,300. The victim said the man threatened her and her daughter’s life if she didn’t comply, the DA’s Office said.
The DA’s Office said officers were able to identify Escobedo using fingerprints lifted off the victim’s truck. The prints matched a record on file for him in Albuquerque, NM. He was arrested at his home a week later.
“Despite his lack of prior criminal history, this was a case that clearly warranted a sentence of
imprisonment,” Montoya said. “A mother witnessing her young daughter being threatened at gunpoint by a complete stranger is unthinkable and can shatter the sense of safety not just for the victim, but for the community, as well. I commend the El Paso Police Department officers and detectives who were able to find the man responsible for this crime.”
Assistant District Attorneys Elena Esparza and Jesse Mende represented the State of Texas in the prosecution of the case.
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