A second man has pleaded guilty to murdering Jose Octavio Cruz, the 57-year-old Charlotte preacher and carpenter gunned down during a home invasion on Shamrock Drive more than two years ago. Kevin Zetino, now 21, entered his plea this month in connection with the quadruple shooting that killed Cruz and left three others critically wounded, while a third co-defendant remains behind bars awaiting trial.
Zetino pleaded guilty to murdering Cruz during the August 2, 2024 home invasion, according to Charlotte Alerts News. He joins co-defendant Adilio Cesar Garcia Lemus, who pleaded guilty in July to second-degree murder, felony conspiracy, first-degree burglary, two counts of robbery with a dangerous weapon, and conspiracy to commit robbery with a dangerous weapon. Garcia Lemus, who was 24 at the time of his arrest and 26 when he was sentenced, received a state prison term of 300 to 372 months, or roughly 25 to 31 years.
A Night of Gunfire on Shamrock Drive
The shooting unfolded around 11:30 p.m. on August 2, 2024, when officers responded to a shots-fired call near the 3500 block of Shamrock Drive close to the Charlotte Museum of History. Responding officers found two gunshot victims lying wounded directly in the roadway before discovering two more victims inside a nearby residence, according to WCNC. Four people total were shot during the robbery, and the three survivors suffered life-threatening injuries before being rushed to local hospitals by Mecklenburg EMS.
Cruz, known to family and friends as “Tavito,” worked as a local carpenter and served as a Christian preacher and prayer group leader before his death, per the National Gun Violence Memorial. Investigators have said the suspects broke into the residence in a home-invasion-style robbery and attempted to steal $1,000 from Cruz, according to Charlotte Alerts News.
Three Arrests in Six Days
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department moved quickly, arresting Zetino on August 6, Garcia Lemus on August 7, and Jonathan Rivera on August 8, 2024, opening official CMPD incident report number 20240802-2345-01, the City of Charlotte said in a case update. All three suspects were interviewed at police headquarters before being transferred to the county jail. The case fell under the jurisdiction of CMPD's North Tryon Division, where lead Homicide Unit Detective Planty directed the investigation while Crime Scene Search units processed both the roadway and the residence for evidence.
Initial charges against all three defendants included first-degree murder, attempted murder, armed robbery, conspiracy to commit armed robbery, first-degree burglary, and assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill or inflict serious injury, per the city's account. A judge ordered Zetino held without bond at his initial court appearance. Rivera, now facing murder and burglary charges, remains in custody awaiting trial more than two years after his arrest, according to the same city record.
What North Carolina Sentencing Law Means Here
Under North Carolina's structured sentencing law, second-degree murder is classified as a Class B1 or B2 felony, which carries mandatory active prison time based on the severity of the offense and the defendant's prior record level. That framework shaped the 25-to-31-year sentence Garcia Lemus received after his guilty plea in Mecklenburg County Superior Court, where felony plea agreements require judicial approval before sentencing. Zetino's own sentencing terms following his guilty plea were not detailed in available case records.
Hoodline previously reported on the shooting as it unfolded in August 2024 and later covered the arrests of Zetino and Garcia Lemus. Separately, the stretch of Shamrock Drive where the shooting took place is slated for $14.5 million in “Complete Street” safety upgrades and a $12 million intersection redesign at Eastway Drive under Charlotte's $425 million municipal bond package, Hoodline has reported, part of the city's largest-ever municipal borrowing measure.
With two of the three defendants now having pleaded guilty, attention turns to Rivera's pending trial. It remains unresolved whether further court testimony or victim-impact statements will reveal more about why the group targeted Cruz's home for what prosecutors say was an attempted $1,000 robbery.
