Man convicted of burning body found near UW-Green Bay campus in 2021 to be sentenced Friday
GREEN BAY – A Green Bay man will be sentenced Friday for burning the body of a man his boss is convicted of murdering.
Jeisaac Rodriguez-Garcia, 30, was convicted of mutilating a corpse, as party to a crime, after he pleaded guilty to the charge April 17.
After a three-day jury trial, Pedro Santiago-Marquez was convicted March 2 of killing, or ordering the killing of, Jason Mendez-Ramos, 36, of Ashwaubenon. He was sentenced May 30 to life in prison with no parole eligibility for more than 40 years.
Rodriguez-Garcia worked as a painter for Santiago-Marquez, who owned Empire Painting and a towing company, which both operated out of a shop located at 1638 E. Mason St. in Green Bay. He is one of two men who were convicted of helping Santiago-Marquez get rid of evidence of the homicide.
When was body discovered?
In the early morning hours of Sept. 28, 2021, police found Mendez-Ramos' body at the the northeast corner of Cofrin Memorial Arboretum, after a person at a nearby residence reported a grass fire. Mendez-Ramos died of gunshot wounds and his body had been set on fire.
The arboretum is 290 acres of natural area and walking trails that surrounds the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay campus. It has over 6 miles of trails open to the public.
The body was found near an entrance to the arboretum at Champeau and Sussex roads in the town of Scott.
What happened leading up to Mendez-Ramos' death?
Prosecutors argued that Santiago-Marquez killed Mendez-Ramos after being confronted about money Mendez-Ramos was owed. Prior to the trial, they had said the debt was related to drug trafficking, but Brown County Circuit Court Reserve Judge William Atkinson made rulings limiting discussion of that during the trial.
Mendez-Ramos' girlfriend, Gabriela Garcia, testified at the trial that the last time she spoke to the victim was around noon Sept. 27 over Facetime as he was headed to Santiago-Marquez's shop. She testified that Santiago-Marquez had called Mendez-Ramos and said he had the money, so Mendez-Ramos went to Green Bay.
Mendez-Ramos' phone data showed no more outgoing texts or calls after 12:27 p.m. that day, Green Bay Police Department Detective David Graf testified at Santiago-Marquez's trial. Prosecutors said this was around the time he was killed.
Santiago-Marquez has continued to maintain his innocence at sentencing.
What did Rodriguez-Garcia testify about at Santiago-Marquez's trial?
Rodriguez-Garcia took the witness stand Feb. 28 during the first full day of testimony at Santiago-Marquez's trial.
Outside the presence of the jury that day, he acknowledged that his testimony may implicate him, but elected to testify anyway.
Rodriguez-Garcia said that on Sept. 27, Santiago-Marquez called him twice. "Something was kind of urgent. He needed a favor with urgency," Rodriguez-Garcia testified through a Spanish-to-English translator.
Rodriguez-Garcia said Santiago-Marquez asked him to pick up a work van, dispose of "garbage in the backseat" by setting it on fire, and then clean the van and park it in his garage. He said he was told Santiago-Marquez would pay him for the favor.
He testified that he went to Santiago-Marquez's house that night, where Santiago-Marquez gave him a gallon of gasoline and keys to the van.
Rodriguez-Garcia then returned to his home, had his girlfriend drive him to Santiago-Marquez's paint shop on East Mason Street, and took the van.
He drove to UW-Green Bay, where he found a spot by Cofrin Memorial Arboretum that he believed was secluded enough to set a fire without drawing attention.
Rodriguez-Garcia said inside the van were black plastic bags covered by a blue tarp, about 5 to 6 feet long. He said the "garbage" was heavy, and he struggled to get it out of the van. It was later confirmed by police to be Mendez-Ramos' body
Rodriguez-Garcia poured gasoline on the tarp and set it on fire with a piece of paper, he testified. In total, he said, he was at the site of the fire only for "minutes."
Rodriguez-Garcia said he cleaned the van the following day, at Santiago-Marquez's request.
Rodriguez-Garcia claimed he did not know what was under the tarp and garbage bags. However, he testified that about a day later he asked Santiago-Marquez about what happened. When they were alone, Santiago-Marquez said he and Mendez-Ramos got into an argument about Mendez-Ramos "doing business under the table" and "cutting him out," Rodriguez-Garcia testified. Santiago-Marquez said he invited Mendez-Ramos to the shop to pay him, and when Mendez-Ramos arrived, there was a physical altercation and Santiago-Marquez shot Mendez-Ramos twice, Rodriguez-Garcia said.
Investigators tied Rodriguez-Garcia to the crime using cellphone data and DNA samples from a sock found on the trial near the body. Police arrested Rodriguez-Garcia in January 2022. He has been booked in Brown County Jail since.
RELATED: 2 men convicted in connection with 2021 homicide of Ashwaubenon man
What were the other sentences in connection with this case?
Santiago-Marquez was sentenced to life in prison, with a parole eligibility date of July 19, 2064.
Alex Burgos-Mojica, who worked for Santiago-Marquez, was convicted of harboring or aiding a felon after he pleaded no contest March 30. He was sentenced to one year in prison followed by 5 years of extended supervision.
Under Wisconsin law for a Class F felony, Rodriguez-Garcia faces a maximum sentence of 12.5 years in prison, $25,000 in fines, or both.
Contact Kelli Arseneau at (920) 213-3721 or karseneau@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @ArseneauKelli.
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This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Green Bay man convicted of burning body in 2021 to be sentenced Friday
