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Thread: Gabriel Gaytan Cardenas Sentenced to LWOP in 2014 CA Murder of Victor Mendoza

  1. #1
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    Gabriel Gaytan Cardenas Sentenced to LWOP in 2014 CA Murder of Victor Mendoza

    PROSECUTORS SEEK DEATH PENALTY IN COACHELLA VALLEY CRAIGSLIST KILLING

    By KMIR News Staff

    Prosecutors will seek the death penalty against a man accused of gunning down a Cathedral City resident who was trying to sell his car to the defendant.

    Gabriel Gaytan Cardenas, 33, is charged with murder and several special circumstance allegations, including murder for financial gain, lying in wait, and murder in the commission of a robbery, carjacking and a felony in the Nov. 11, 2014 killing of 46-year-old Victor Mendoza. Mendoza’s body was found in a desert area of Coachella one week after he allegedly met with Cardenas.

    Prosecutors filed their notice of intent to seek the death penalty on Wednesday.

    Mendoza posted an ad on Craigslist for his Mercedes-Benz, and after an initial meeting with Cardenas about the car, called friends “and expressed concerns over selling the vehicle to Cardenas,” according to a declaration filed in support of an arrest warrant.

    On Nov. 11, Mendoza asked a friend to be at a Del Taco restaurant on Varner Road and Washington Street in Palm Desert while he finalized a deal with Cardenas, and she watched as the defendant got into the Mercedes with the victim and drove off, according to the declaration.

    Mendoza’s friend talked to him on the phone shortly after the two men left and said he was acting strangely. Cardenas later called her on Mendoza’s phone, saying Mendoza had inadvertently left it behind after selling him the car, according to the declaration prepared by sheriff’s Investigator Sean Freeman.

    Mendoza was reported missing the following day.

    On Nov. 15, Cardenas was driving Mendoza’s car when he met with a man and his son in response to their Craigslist car ad, according to the declaration. Cardenas met the pair again two days later, again under the guise of buying their car. He allegedly brandished a gun and threatened to kill them, while also admitting to Mendoza’s murder.

    However, he let them go since one of the men “reminded him of his father” and “they had been nice to (him) during the first meeting” and took their car, the declaration states.

    Cardenas was arrested later that day in Indio while driving the father and son’s car, and investigators found his cell phone number in both victims’ phone records, according to Freeman.

    Cardenas allegedly told the investigators that he was in debt to a Mexican drug cartel and was ordered by the cartel to meet Mendoza. He alleged that he delivered Mendoza to a cartel member, who drove them to Coachella, and the cartel member shot Mendoza. Cardenas later led investigators to where the body was found, according to the declaration.

    In a second interview, Cardenas told investigators that he met with Mendoza at the Del Taco in Palm Desert and had him drive to Coachella, the declaration says.

    “Cardenas told Mendoza to get on his knees and to say a prayer for Cardenas. Cardenas then shot Mendoza in the back of the head and left the body,” the document states. “Cardenas still claimed that he committed the murder on behalf of a drug cartel that he owed money.”

    Cardenas remains held without bail at the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Banning. He’s next due in court Monday for a trial-readiness conference.

    http://kmir.com/2018/04/19/prosecuto...slist-killing/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  2. #2
    Administrator Aaron's Avatar
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    Another Craigslist killing. I think it's good Craigslist disabled it's personals section. But danger still exists on the site.
    Don't ask questions, just consume product and then get excited for next products.

    "They will hurt you. They will hurt your grandma, these people. The root cause of this is there's no discipline in the homes, they don't go to school, you know, they live off the government, no personal accountability, and they just beat people up for no reason, and it's disgusting." - Former Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters

  3. #3
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    I don't know how many times I've read about someone being killed after meeting a stranger to buy something. People need to start reading the crime news like we do and they wouldn't be so naive.
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  4. #4
    Billinsandiego
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    Specifically when he told a friend the murderer is acting suspicious.

  5. #5
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    Yes, that should have been a strong clue.
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  6. #6
    Member Member dawnymarieeee's Avatar
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    Craigslist is like everything in the market - Caveat emptor /ˌkævɛɑːt ˈɛmptɔːr/ is Latin for "Let the buyer beware
    Last edited by dawnymarieeee; 04-20-2018 at 05:58 AM.

  7. #7
    Senior Member CnCP Addict one_two_bomb's Avatar
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    I've bought lots of things on Craigslist, I've found roommates on craigslist, i even bought my cat on craigslist. It's not anymore dangerous than any other market. A little common sense and you will be fine. As for hiring services such as carpet cleaning i suggest hiring a reputable company or a friend you know, or you will likely get ripped off.

  8. #8
    Senior Member CnCP Legend JLR's Avatar
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    Mexican citizen sentenced to life in 2014 Coachella Craigslist killing

    CITY NEWS SERVICE | 6:48 pm PST March 2, 2020
    A Mexican citizen who claimed he was in debt to a Mexican drug cartel pleaded guilty to the 2014 murder of a Cathedral City resident during a Craiglist car purchase and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office confirmed Monday.

    Gabriel Gaytan Cardenas, 34, was sentenced Friday immediately after entering into a plea deal, in which he avoided a potential death sentence initially sought by prosecutors, according to district attorney’s spokesman John Hall.

    Cardenas was charged with murder and two special circumstance allegations in the Nov. 11, 2014, slaying of 46-year-old Victor Mendoza, whose body was found in a desert area of Coachella one week after he met with the defendant. He had been shot once in the back of the head.

    The pair met after Cardenas, who was living in Fontana at the time, responded to a Craigslist ad Mendoza had posted to sell his Mercedes-Benz, according to a declaration filed in support of an arrest warrant submitted by sheriff’s Investigator Sean Freeman.

    After initially expressing concerns about Cardenas, Mendoza asked a friend to accompany him to the sale. She told authorities she saw the defendant, who was waiting outside a Del Taco in Palm Desert, enter Mendoza’s car before the two quickly drove off, according to to the declaration.

    Mendoza’s friend talked to him on the phone shortly after and said he was acting strangely. The defendant later called her on Mendoza’s phone, saying Mendoza had inadvertently left it behind after selling him the car, according to the declaration.

    Mendoza was reported missing the following day.

    Authorities arrested Cardenas on Nov. 17, 2014. He was driving a vehicle he had stolen that day from a father and son, who had posted a Craigslist ad.

    The father told authorities Cardenas was driving Mendoza’s Mercedes- Benz the first day they met, according to Freeman.

    According to the declaration, the father told authorities that while his car was being stolen at gunpoint by Cardenas, the defendant admitted to killing Mendoza. Investigators later found his cellphone number in both victims’ phone records.

    “This is where your life ends,” Cardenas told the father and son, before letting them go and driving off in their car, according to the declaration.

    Once arrested, Cardenas told investigators he was in debt to a Mexican drug cartel, according to Freeman. He then led authorities to the location of the body near Avenue 47 and Tyler Street. After initially saying the cartel made him deliver Mendoza to a cartel member who actually did the shooting, he admitted to killing Mendoza, according to Freeman.

    “Cardenas told Mendoza to get on his knees and to say a prayer for Cardenas. Cardenas then shot Mendoza in the back of the head and left the body,” Freeman wrote in the declaration. “Cardenas still claimed that he committed the murder on behalf of a drug cartel that he owed money.”

    https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.des...amp/4935813002

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