FRESNO, Calif. (KMJ/KFSN) — “You took my son. You took my son!” a mother said in a Fresno County courtroom on Thursday.
It was one of several tense moments as she looked her son’s killer in the eyes.
“I hope you rot in jail!” she said.
Luis Rodriguez stood a few feet away. He is convicted of manslaughter after pleading no contest to the charge.
Prosecutors say he killed 25-year-old Alvaro Hernandez Jr. in Kingsburg last July, stabbing him to death.
Hernandez’s family on Wednesday demanded answers.
“What did I do to you for you to kill him?” his grandmother said. “I opened the doors of my home. Why did you do that?”
Hernandez was a father, described by his family as a hard-working and dedicated man.
Rodriguez will now spend 12 years in state prison for Hernandez’s death.
However, many of the details remain under seal since Rodriguez pleaded before a trial.
“I would just like to apologize to everybody in the court, especially to Mr. Alvaro’s family,” he said in court. “I didn’t mean for anything to happen like this. God knows I’m not a bad person.”
“You didn’t mean to stab him?” Judge James Kelley asked.
“I didn’t mean for anything to go this far,” Rodriguez said.
He claimed he tried to de-escalate the situation, with his defense attorney claiming the victim was holding something.
“Maybe (he) reacted too soon,” the attorney admitted.
The reality of Hernandez’s death still pains the victim’s family.
“No amount of years will ever be the right punishment for taking my husband’s life,” Hernandez’s partner said.
