Sleeping roommate's killer sentenced to life in prison
Sep. 1—Cobb Superior Court Judge Ann Harris sentenced a man to life in prison this week for orchestrating with three accomplices the murder of his roommate, the district attorney's office said.
Santos Tomas Vasquez, 42, was convicted at trial of leading the killing of Andres Meza Munguia at their Austell home.
The July 2018 murder was carried out by Vasquez along with Dorian Acosta, Anthony Lopez, and Fredy Jimenez, the DA's office said. The four conspirators met several times leading up to the murder, before meeting at the home early in the morning of July 29.
Prosecutors alleged Acosta and Lopez shot Munguia several times while he was asleep on the couch. The four then left the home, with Jimenez and Vasquez returning over an hour later to feign discovering the body. Vasquez told the police he did not know what happened.
A warrant for Vasquez's arrest says his co-conspirators later confessed to the plot. Acosta, Lopez, and Jimenez pled guilty this year, per the DA's office, and court records show they also received life sentences.
"During Vasquez's trial, the jury heard testimony from law enforcement and from Vasquez's three codefendants, whose testimony was corroborated by cell tower data, cell phone records, cell phone extraction evidence, and surveillance video," a news release said.
The DA's office did not indicate a motive for the killing, saying only that Vasquez "manipulated his codefendants to slaughter a man for reasons that will never be understood."
