A Prince George's County man who pleaded guilty in December to the first-degree murder of a co-worker in a Dayton greenhouse has been sentenced to a 40-year prison term.
Ismael Guerra-Vasquez, 37, of Hyattsville, was sentenced Thursday in the May 2014 shooting death of Rodolfo Miguel Cervantes, 31, of Hyattsville.
During the sentencing hearing, an interpreter translated two letters from Cervantes' mother and brother that characterized Cervantes, the oldest of 10 children, as the family's father figure who dedicated himself to helping his mother raise his siblings in the absence of the father.
This testimony countered a suggestion from Guerra-Vasquez' defense that the murder was an impulsive decision.
"That was not impulsive; that was cold-blooded. He knew what he was doing," Howard County Assistant State's Attorney Natasha Byus told the court.
Cervantes was found shot to death inside a greenhouse in the 4900 block of Ten Oaks Road around 3 p.m. on May 23. Witnesses told police that Cervantes was an employee of the greenhouse and that he and Guerra-Vasquez, a fellow employee known to the witnesses as "Pastor," had gotten into an argument prior to the shooting.
The witnesses told police that Cervantes had been drinking that day, according to the charging documents.
The documents state one witness said they saw Guerra-Vasquez shoot Cervantes "multiple times" and then flee in a gray Nissan Altima with two others, who were not identified.
At 4:18 p.m. that day, an officer pulled over Guerra-Vasquez's car and arrested him, according to the document.
Police found four expended shell casings on Guerra-Vasquez's person, police said.
During a police interview, Guerra-Vasquez admitted to the crime, according to the documents.