A San Antonio jury has sentenced 37-year-old Marco Antonio Moreno-Vasquez to 40 years in prison for the 2023 killing of Duniel Valladares Fernandez, a shooting prosecutors say started as a fight over money and ended with a deadly shot in an East Bexar County yard.
Prosecutors told jurors that while Moreno-Vasquez did not pull the trigger, he directed the person who did. The jury returned its verdict after a weeklong trial, and the judge also handed down a concurrent six-year sentence for deadly conduct. Another defendant, Adis Hernandez-Rivas, took a plea deal and is set to be sentenced later this month. "Every life lost to violence leaves a lasting impact on families and our community," Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales said in a written statement, as reported by the San Antonio Express-News.
Surveillance Video Leads Deputies To SUV
The shooting happened in February 2023 at a home in the 7700 block of Winsford Drive in eastern Bexar County, where deputies found Valladares Fernandez with a gunshot wound, according to local reporting. Home-security cameras captured the confrontation, and video of a light-colored SUV helped investigators track the vehicle to Atascosa County and make arrests, KSAT reported.
State: He Called The Shot, Even If He Wasn’t The Shooter
In court, the state leaned on Texas' law of parties, which allows jurors to hold someone criminally responsible for a killing even if that person did not fire the weapon, if they ordered or helped cause the crime. Prosecutors said that was exactly what Moreno-Vasquez did. "The state is not going to be able to prove to you that this defendant was the shooter," Assistant District Attorney Meghan Galloway told jurors, according to the San Antonio Express-News, as she laid out the theory that he directed the gunman.
What His 40-Year Sentence Could Mean For Parole
Parole eligibility in Texas depends on the type of conviction and the laws in place when the crime occurred. Many people serving time become eligible for parole review only after serving a portion of their sentence, often roughly half for certain felony offenses, although eligibility does not guarantee release. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice notes that parole dates are calculated case by case and can be affected by good-time credits and specific statutory rules, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
Confrontation Over Alleged Debt Turns Fatal
Valladares Fernandez, 32, was found wounded in the front yard of the Winsford Drive home and later died at a hospital. Authorities said the confrontation grew out of an alleged debt. Deputies arrested Moreno-Vasquez and Hernandez-Rivas in February 2023 after tracking the SUV seen in surveillance footage, as reported by KSAT.
