COLDSPRING, Texas — A man accused of killing five people in Texas in 2023 after a neighbor complained that he was keeping a baby awake by firing a gun in his yard late at night pleaded guilty Wednesday to murder charges and will serve a life sentence without the possibility of parole, a prosecutor said.
Francisco Oropeza, a Mexican national, pleaded guilty to capital murder of multiple persons as part of a deal to avoid a possible death sentence, San Jacinto County District Attorney Todd Dillon told The Associated Press. Oropeza was offered the deal after prosecutors had lengthy discussions with family members of the victims, he said.
U.S. immigration officials said Oropeza had been deported four times between 2009 and 2016. But Dillon said he will spend the rest of his life behind bars in Texas.
“He is not eligible for deportation. He is not eligible for anything,” Dillon said. “He will stay in the custody of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice until he breathes his last breath.”
Oropeza entered the pleas Wednesday after listening to emotional testimony from family members of the victims, Dillon said.
Oropeza’s attorney, Anthony Osso Sr., didn’t immediately respond to a Wednesday phone message seeking comment. He previously said that tension between Oropeza and his neighbors had been building for quite some time.
Police say Oropeza stormed into his neighbor’s house on April 28, 2023, after being asked to stop firing his gun late at night. All five victims, including a 9-year-old boy, were from Honduras. The baby wasn’t harmed.
The shooting happened in the rural town of Cleveland, about 45 miles north of Houston. Police say Oropeza fled the neighborhood after the shooting, setting off an intense search. He was was eventually arrested near Conroe, roughly 20 miles from the crime scene.
