Man found guilty in drug cartel-ordered killing

Roberto 'Tiny' Aguilar sentenced to life without parole

SAN ANTONIO – A jury on Monday found a man accused of carrying out a drug cartel-ordered hit guilty of capital murder.

Since the prosecution wasn't seeking the death penalty, Roberto "Tiny" Aguilar received an automatic sentence of life without parole.

Aguilar was on trial for the capital murder of Angel Salazar, 28.

On Monday, Aguilar's lawyer asked jurors to take a closer look at his police confession.

According to prosecutors, Aguilar kidnapped Salazar in the summer of 2015 and took him to an abandoned apartment on South Flores street, where he was bound, beaten, tortured and shot to death.

Aguilar was ordered to kill Salazar because he owed the cartel money, prosecutors said.

The suspect was on the run following the killing, but surrendered to police after seeing television reports that he was wanted for the slaying, police said.

"He's worried about his family's safety and his safety," defense attorney Wayne Huff told the jury during closing arguments Monday. "He already thinks he has a hit out on him."

Although authorities said that Aguilar admitted to the killing during a recorded interview with police detectives, Huff asked the jury to closely examine the interview.

"We know for a fact that with the cartel involved, everybody is scared of talking and of getting police involved," Huff said.

Prosecutors argued that this is a case of capital murder and asked the jury not to consider a lesser charge. 

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About the Author:

Paul Venema is a courthouse reporter for KSAT with more than 25 years experience in the role.