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A judge sentenced Christian Pedraza to 16 years to life in prison for a 2021 motel murder.Pedraza was found guilty of second-degree murder in the death of Raymond David Alvarez.A jury in a sanity phase retrial found Pedraza was sane when he committed the murder.
A judge last week sentenced a man to 16 years to life in prison for the death of a coworker who was stabbed more than 60 times in a Sacramento County motel.
On Friday, Sacramento Superior Court Judge Shellyanne Chang sentenced Christian Pedraza, 32, for the 2021 stabbing death of 49-year-old Raymond David Alvarez, according to a news release from the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office.
A jury on Nov. 15 found Pedraza guilty of second-degree murder in Alvarez’s death. His conviction included an enhancement for using a knife in the murder.
Pedraza had pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. Prosecutors said the jury in the first sanity trial phase could not reach a unanimous verdict; the jury was hung in favor of insanity.
In a sanity phase retrial, the jury found that Pedraza was sane when he committed the murder, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
The deadly stabbing was reported shortly before 8:30 p.m. April 13, 2021, in the 9500 block of Folsom Boulevard in the Rosemont-area, according to the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office.
Sheriff’s officials said at the time that a caller reported that “screaming and a physical disturbance” could be heard.
Prosecutors said Pedraza and his “work acquaintance,” Alvarez, were in a motel room together when the deadly stabbing occurred. Alvarez’s city of residence is listed as the small community of Hood in southwest Sacramento County, according to the Sacramento County Coroner’s Office.
Pedraza was hiding a knife and attacked Alvarez while he was distracted on the phone; stabbing the victim more than 60 times, according to the DA’s Office.
Prosecutors said Alvarez was still moving and screaming, so Pedraza cut the victim’s throat to silence him. Pedraza then washed his hands in the motel sink, changed his clothes left the room through a window.
A motel employee heard the commotion and called 911. Prosecutors said authorities found Pedraza in a nearby parking lot with blood on his hands.
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Rosalio Ahumada writes breaking news stories related to crime and public safety for The Sacramento Bee. He speaks Spanish fluently and has worked as a news reporter in the Central Valley since 2004.