Defendants Sentenced to Death for Turnpike Murder of Two Toddlers

R. Alexander Acosta, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Mark R. Trouville, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Miami Field Division, announced that defendants Daniel Troya, 25, and Ricardo Sanchez, 25, both of West Palm Beach, FL, were sentenced today for their role in the brutal slaying of the Escobedo family along Florida’s Turnpike in St. Lucie County on October 13, 2006.

U.S. District Judge Daniel T.K. Hurley sentenced each defendant to death for each of the murders of the two toddlers, and imposed separate life sentences for each defendant for the murders of each of the parents, Jose Luis Escobedo and Yessica Guerrero Escobedo. In addition, the Court sentenced Troya and Sanchez to additional terms of imprisonment on charges of using a firearm in relation to a crime of violence, conspiracy to commit carjacking, possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine, and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Mr. Acosta commended the collaborative investigative work of the Drug Enforcement Administration, the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, the City of West Palm Beach Police Department, the FBI, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. The case was prosecuted in West Palm Beach by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephen Carlton and John S. Kastrenakes, along with Richard Burns from the Department of Justice, Capital Crimes Unit.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.