A Sacramento County jury has convicted two men of first-degree murder in the brutal July 2023 killing of Gabriel Espinoza, a Wilton Rancheria tribal member whose final moments played out in a Rancho Cordova fast-food parking lot. The attack, prosecutors said, combined a car assault with a machete strike. Sentencing is scheduled for mid-April in Sacramento Superior Court.
In a press release from the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office, prosecutors said jurors found Samuel Amorado and Andres Santibenez guilty of first-degree murder in case No. 23FE010966. The jury also found true an allegation that Amorado personally used a deadly or dangerous weapon during the crime, and the office identified Principal Criminal Attorney TeriAnn Grimes as the prosecutor on the case.
Arrests Tied to 2023 Parking-Lot Attack
Deputies first arrested Santibenez and Amorado in July 2023 after officers responded to a report of a pedestrian struck near Sunrise and Folsom boulevards in Rancho Cordova, according to KCRA. Initial reports said crews found an unresponsive man who was later pronounced dead and another injured person at the scene, and both suspects were booked into the Sacramento County Jail on murder charges.
What Prosecutors Say Happened
According to details presented in court and reported by Fox40, prosecutors said the violence started when a friend of the defendants got into an altercation with Espinoza and then asked Amorado and Santibenez to help chase him down. Amorado allegedly armed himself with a machete and climbed into Santibenez’s car. Prosecutors said the pair pursued Espinoza into a fast-food parking lot, where Santibenez ran over and dragged him before Amorado “sliced the victim’s neck with a machete, killing him instantly.”
Prosecutors said Amorado faces a maximum of 26 years to life in prison and Santibenez 25 years to life. Sentencing is set for April 17, 2026, in Department 40 before Judge Steve White.
Local Impact and Tribal Context
Espinoza’s membership in the Wilton Rancheria has intensified local concern about violence against Indigenous residents, at a time when Sacramento County officials have been expanding coordination with the tribe on missing and murdered Indigenous people. CBS Sacramento reported earlier this year on a new agreement between the county and Wilton Rancheria aimed at improving investigations in such cases, and Fox40 also covered the verdict and the details prosecutors presented…