This afternoon, Jacinto Lopez Sanchez and Domingo Rudy Velasco Ostuma were both found guilty as charged of Second-Degree Murder with a Weapon, following a joint three-day trial in Lee County. The defendants stabbed a man to death in a restaurant parking lot.
Assistant State Attorney Andreas Gardiner, of the Homicide Unit, and Assistant State Attorney John Dommerich Jr., Special Prosecutions Chief, prosecuted the case.
The murder happened at “El Patron Restaurante,” which is a restaurant and nightclub on Palm Beach Boulevard. On March 10, 2024, just before 2 a.m., a man was attacked in the parking lot, just after he left the establishment.
Evidence used at trial showed the two defendants on video surveillance, confronting the victim, attacking him, and then chasing him as he tried to get away. The victim had been stabbed and was clutching his side as he ran from the parking lot attack.
The Fort Myers Police Department were called and quickly arrived on scene. Officers and a security guard at the restaurant were able to detain one suspect. The second suspect fled but was quickly captured. The defendants were roommates.
The victim was rushed to the hospital and pronounced dead on arrival.
Sentencing is scheduled for May 12, 2025.
Samantha Syoen – State Attorney’s Office Communications Director