A jury has recommended a death sentence for a man who was found guilty of murder from a complicated love triangle over a decade ago.
Eight out of 12 jurors on Thursday recommended the death sentence instead of life in prison for Ysrael Granda, who was convicted of first-degree murder in connection to the death of 42-year-old Jose Soto in Miami Lakes in 2012.
Granda, from his jail cell, ordered his girlfriend's new partner, Soto, to be killed.
"He planned. He was the mastermind," prosecutor Joshua Weintraub said. "If it wasn’t for Ysrael Granda, Jose Soto would be alive today. That’s why he should receive the harshest sentence."
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Despite Granda not being the shooter, prosecutors said the murder was cold and calculated, that he is manipulative, and it's not the first time he’s been convicted for ordering others to commit crimes for him.
"He breaks rules, he craves attention, he has a need for constant stimulation. That’s what this defendant is about," Weintraub said.
Granda's attorneys described an opposite man with a traumatic upbringing – a victim of assault who is suffering from brain problems. The defense put the blame on the girlfriend– Lisiana Quintero – who pled guilty and got 13 years in prison for helping kill Soto, her new boyfriend.
"While she's screwing Soto, she's also planning his murder," said defense attorney Bruce Fleischer. "She's cold, calculated, and premeditated, why would she plot murder if she still loved Ysrael?"
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The alleged shooter, Jonathan Rico, was found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder, but not murder in the first degree. However, after the acquittal on the murder charge, Rico avoided the death penalty and awaits his own sentencing.
A jury in Miami-Dade hasn't recommended a death sentence in a long time. The judge has the ultimate say, with another hearing for that scheduled later this year.
