Two men are now facing the death penalty in connection to a 2023 kidnapping and murder of a Doral man whose apartment was ransacked by armed home invaders who claimed they were members of a violent Venezuelan street gang.
Julio Cesar Hernandez-Montero, 27, and Yurwin Salazar-Maita, 23, stood next to each other in a Miami-Dade courtroom Tuesday as prosecutors announced the pair was indicted on first-degree murder charges for allegedly killing 43-year-old Jose Luis Sanchez-Valera.
On top of the first-degree murder charges, Assistant State Attorney Gabriela Alfaro told Judge Laura Cruz the state will be prosecuting the co-defendants on robbery home invasion, carjacking, kidnapping, and burglary charges.
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According to an arrest warrant, Sanchez-Valera had gone to a hotel in Miami to meet a woman the night of Nov. 27.
Surveillance video from the hotel showed him leaving and getting into his Toyota 4Runner as three suspects in dark clothing emerged from a silver sedan and physically removed him from the driver's seat, the warrant said.
Sanchez-Valera was forcibly placed in the back seat of his SUV as the suspects fled, the warrant said.
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Hours later, a home invasion robbery was reported at Sanchez-Valera's apartment in the 6400 block of Northwest 102 Path in Doral.
According to the warrant, two armed males entered Sanchez-Valera's apartment and demanded jewelry from Valera's roommate. They also took a safe from Sanchez-Valera's bedroom and fled in the silver sedan, the warrant said.
After the home invasion robbery, the roommate contacted Sanchez-Valera's son, who was able to track Sanchez-Valera's location with a phone app.
Sanchez-Valera's "blood splattered" 4Runner was discovered at Northwest 28th Street and Northwest 37th Avenue with his body in the back seat. He had his hands and feet bound, the warrant said.
A medical examiner later determined Sanchez-Valera had been choked to death and ruled the death a homicide, the warrant said.
The roommate identified the woman Sanchez-Valera had gone to meet at the hotel, and was able to identify one of the suspects in the home invasion as an acquaintance from their home country of Venezuela, the warrant said.
According to the warrant, the roommate also said that during the home invasion, one of the suspects told him they were from "Tren De Aragua," a violent Venezuelan street gang currently operating in the United States, according to the FBI.
Hernandez-Montero was identified as an acquaintance of Sanchez-Valera and his roommate, and the roommate identified him as one of the suspects in the home invasion, the warrant said.
Hernandez-Montero's phone was in the area of the hotel where Sanchez-Valera was taken and he had booked and was using two rooms at the hotel, the warrant said.
He was also seen on video exiting the hotel and his clothing matched the clothing of one of the suspects in the home invasion robbery, the warrant said.
Investigators were able to identify Salazar-Maita as a suspect in the crimes after a fingerprint from the 4Runner matched his, and cell phone data showed he'd been at the hotel, authorities said.
The co-defendants are currently in jail with no bond. If convicted on first degree murder, Cesar Hernandez-Montero and Salazar-Maita could be sentenced to death.
On Tuesday, state attorney’s also filed their intention to seek the ultimate punishment.
