BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) — A man convicted last month of shooting and killing a security guard during a robbery at a tobacco shop in Oildale in 2022 was sentenced on Monday to life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus four years, according to the Kern County DA’s Office.
Cesar Vasquez was found guilty on April 30, 2026, of first-degree murder with the special circumstance that the murder happened during a robbery, that led to the death of Odulio Rodriguez, 36
FILE: KCSO said deputies arrested Cesar Vasquez, 19, in the shooting and killing of a 35-year-old man. (KBAK/FOX58)
On July 3, 2022, at around 4:50 p.m., deputies responded to a report of a shooting at the Gravity Tobacco shop in Oildale, located at 335 Roberts Lane.
RELATED: 19-year-old man arrested in deadly shooting in Oildale
Deputies arrived at 5:15 p.m. and found Odulio Rodriguez suffering from multiple gunshot injuries. He died shortly after at the scene.
Surveillance footage captured Cesar Vasquez, 19 at the time, arriving at the tobacco shop, killing Rodriguez and fleeing in his car, said prosecutors. Deputies’ evidence, along with the footage, subsequently led to Vasquez’s arrest.
Prosecutors said during an interrogation with the police, Vasquez admitted to robbing the Gravity Tobacco Shop on July 3, 2022, and shooting Odulio Rodriguez to death during the robbery. He also admitted to a prior robbery at the same shop on May 20, 2022.
FILE: KCSO said deputies arrested Cesar Vasquez, 19, in the shooting and killing of a 35-year-old man. (KBAK/FOX58)
Investigators discovered that Rodriguez was hired as security following Vasquez’s robbery in May. Rodriguez had only worked at the shop for two weeks when he was shot to death, said investigators.
Comment with Bubbles
BE THE FIRST TO COMMENT
“No one deserves to lose their life to a senseless, selfish acts of violence. While nothing can undo the life that has been taken, the gravity of a homicide committed in the course of another felony warrants a sentence ensuring that Vasquez will never again walk free in our community,” stated Kern County DA Cynthia Zimmer at the time of Vasquez’s sentence.