San Antonio man sentenced to life in prison for killing Good Samaritan

Leopoldo Mora eligible for parole in 30 years

SAN ANTONIO – A Bexar County jury on Thursday sentenced a man to life in prison.

Jurors deliberated for four hours before returning their decision on Leopoldo Mora. He will be eligible for parole in 30 years.

The jury took only about one hour Wednesday to find him guilty of murder.

Mora was convicted of fatally shooting Kenneth Salazar while he was helping a stranger fix his vehicle in June 2021 outside a West Side motel.

The defendant had no reaction as the guilty verdict was read by 226th District Court Judge Velia Meza.

The victim’s wife testified on Wednesday to talk about how he was a Gulf War Veteran, cancer survivor and loved fixing cars and motorcycles.

Kenneth Salazar was murdered in 2021 outside a West Side motel. (Copyright 2023 by KSAT - All rights reserved.)

The couple had three kids and six grandchildren.

“Our grandchildren will never know him, he won’t be able to walk our daughter down the aisle,” Laura Salazar said. “I miss him terribly.”

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About the Authors

Erica Hernandez is an Emmy award-winning journalist with 15 years of experience in the broadcast news business. Erica has covered a wide array of stories all over Central and South Texas. She's currently the court reporter and cohost of the podcast Texas Crime Stories.

Misael started at KSAT-TV as a photojournalist in 1987.

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