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1989-11-12

#event/death/homicide #court/district/320th #Judge/Emerson #offense/murder #people/A/Avila/Andre #event/sentencing/tdcj/40-years

November 12, 1989 Offense Date

Andre Avila shot and killed Juan Caralos Sotelo-Lara on November 12, 1989. The exact motive was never made clear by police, but witnesses reported that the two men had been fighting.[1]

Avila became a suspect when he fled to Mexico.

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Andre Avila in 1989

While in Mexico, Avila committed another murder and was sentenced to prison in 1995.

Around the time of Avila's expected release from a Mexican prison in July 2008, Mexican officials learned that he had an arrest warrant and notified the U.S.

Avila was extradited and arrived in Amarillo, Texas on July 11, 2008.[2]

October 2008 Sentencing

On October 23, 2008, Avila appeared in 320th District Court and admitted to shooting Sotelo-Lara.[3]

Judge Don Emerson sentenced him to 40 years in prison, bringing the 19-year-old cold case to a close.

At the time of Avila's sentencing, no family members of Sotelo-Lara could be located to inform.[4]

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  1. https://abc13.com/archive/6468946/ ↩︎

  2. NewsChannel10 reported that Avila came back. to Texas and was arrested in El Paso https://www.newschannel10.com/story/9230760/19-year-old-cold-case-solved/ ↩︎

  3. https://www.newschannel10.com/story/8699774/amarillo-cold-case-arrest-made/ ↩︎

  4. https://www.newschannel10.com/story/9255450/cracking-cold-cases-doesnt-always-bring-justice/ ↩︎