A Hemet man was sentenced to death on Friday, Dec. 4, for the 2013 murder of a 16-year-old during a robbery of his cell phone.
Francisco Roy Zavala Jr., 23, was convicted of first degree murder on July 23 by a Riverside County jury.
District Attorney Mike Hestrin sought the death penalty against Zavala, filing a special circumstance allegation of murder during the commission of a robbery.
Zavala murdered Eric Sargeant, 16, of Hemet on Jan. 14, 2013, just days after being paroled from state prison, while attempting to steal Sargeant’s cell phone.
According to a press release issued by the Riverside County District Attorney’s office, Zavala approached Sargeant in the area of Acacia Avenue and Cherrywood Drive in the unincorporated area of Hemet.
As Sargeant was walking down the street using his cell phone. Zavala asked him for his cell phone and then started punching Sargeant when he refused to hand the phone to him. Sargeant tried to run away but Zavala chased after him, pulled out a “Ginzu”-brand boning knife and stabbed the victim multiple times – killing him.
The murder weapon was found in an empty field nearby.
On Aug. 12, 2015, the jury decided that Zavala should be put to death. Today, Judge Stephen Gallon rendered that death sentence against Zavala.
The case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Daniel DeLimon of the DA’s Homicide Trial Team.
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