Yoeslan Arencibia represented himself in his trial for killing John Anderson in 2022. Arencibia’s wife testified that she’s scared of him and he should get life.
RICHMOND, Texas — The man who killed a father of two in Missouri City in 2022 was sentenced to life in prison this week by a jury in Fort Bend County.
Jurors took only half an hour to convict Yoeslan Arencibia, 42, of murder for killing John Anderson, and even less time to sentence him.
The victim was gunned down on January 18, 2002, when he returned home to his Missouri City apartment complex on Fondren near Beltway 8 after running errands. When he got out of his car, Arencibia walked up and shot him. The entire thing was caught on camera.
Arencibia didn’t live at the complex, and there was no evidence that the two men knew each other. The motive remains a mystery.
“It is human to try and make sense of this chaos, but sometimes there is no sense, no reason, no ‘why’. There are only evil deeds and evildoers,” Fort Bend County DA Brian M. Middleton said.
Arencibia hid on the roof of a nearby industrial facility for several hours.
Harris County Precinct 7 deputies arrested him after he pointed a gun at a passing driver on Beltway 8, and then blocked a lane of traffic in a toll plaza.
Arencibia represented himself at the murder trial. He called his wife to testify, but she told jurors that she’s afraid of him and that he should get life in prison.
The jury deliberated for only 30 minutes before finding Arencibia guilty.
During the punishment phase, testimony showed the defendant attacked his wife in the weeks leading up to the murder. He also tried to stab a guard at the Harris County Jail after his rest.
Middleton asked jurors to give Arencibia life in prison.
“And it has to be enough to hold them accountable and punish them accordingly, for our own health, our own healing, so we can remember what is good and honorable. So we can remember John,” Middleton said.
They deliberated for 15 minutes before sentencing Arencibia to life in prison.
“It took the courage of everyday citizens to confront this dangerous man, and our community is fortunate to have those brave people among it,” prosecutor Grayson Miller said. “I hope the family and community can rest a bit easier knowing that and that the defendant will be behind bars for life.”
Arencibia must serve at least 30 years before he’s eligible for parole.
Anderson left behind a wife and a young son and daughter.