Brandon Ortiz-Vite, the man who confessed to the murder of his girlfriend Ruby Garcia, was sentenced today to spend between 37 and 100 years in prison. The sentence includes a two-year term for a felony firearm charge that must be served before the murder sentence. The plea deal reached in September had prosecutors dropping a charge of first-degree murder which Ortiz-Vite was initially facing, as reported by UpNorthlive.
On March 22, after a discussion about their relationship, Ortiz-Vite shot Garcia four times while in her car and subsequently left her body on US-131. As reported by FOX 17, it was two days later that Ortiz-Vite, called 911 to surrender, a move signaling a man seemingly in conflict with his heinous act.
According to a WZZM 13 report, Ortiz-Vite's legal status also attracted national attention. He had been deported in 2020 and had reentered the United States illegally. The local community had voiced concerns that this fact could incite harmful political rhetoric toward the immigrant population.
"No question, this is a domestic violence case," Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker told WZZM 13, articulating a desire to focus on the personal tragedy over the broader political implications. "Yes, there is the bigger political thing, but this is something that you know, once again, talking with the family, this is a boyfriend-girlfriend, and we've got to treat it kind of like many other cases, and being very respectful to the family," Becker stated, emphasizing the need to honor the victim's family's feelings amidst media attention. Ortiz-Vite's guilty plea to second-degree murder and related charges was an effort to balance the wishes of the victim's family and public safety, Becker added.
