Last week, Santos Perfecto Melendez-Granados, 35, faced his fate in court after being convicted of murder for fatally shooting another man, Carlos Pineda, two and a half years ago in a fit of jealousy.
A Harris County jury found Melendez-Granados guilty of murder on Wednesday and handed down a sentence of life imprisonment.
Prosecutors painted Melendez-Granados as a jealous ex-boyfriend who couldn’t bear the fact that his former girlfriend had moved on to a new relationship. They argued that on the night of September 23, 2021, Melendez-Granados waited in his truck in the parking lot of his ex-girlfriend’s new apartment complex for her and Pineda to return.
As the couple entered the parking lot, Melendez-Granados ambushed them, shooting Pineda twice in the back with a shotgun, resulting in his death.
During the trial, prosecutors presented damning evidence, including a recorded phone conversation between Melendez-Granados and his ex-girlfriend after the murder, where he confessed, “I lost my mind for you.” The ex-girlfriend also testified, alleging that Melendez-Granados had tracked her down at her new apartment by placing a GPS device on her car.