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FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Nearly 30 years aft a Valley concern proprietor hired a hitman to termination 2 teens, he's requesting a resentencing hearing. Right now, Jerry Rodriguez is connected decease row.
It's been decades since Richie Hernandez saw oregon spoke to his brother, AJ and relative Danny. He said 19-year-old AJ and 18-year-old Danny were not conscionable cousins, but champion friends.
Richie remembers the 2 spending hours unneurotic and being affable with everybody.
"Both of them had immense personalities -- joyful, funny, pranksters that truly loved their trucks," said Richie Hernandez.
It was that emotion of trucks that enactment them successful the way of Jerry Rodriguez. In 1994, the teens paid the Visalia tyre store proprietor $2,000 for customized rims for a reddish truck.
Instead of delivering the rims, investigators discovered Rodriguez kept the wealth and hired a hitman to sprout and termination the teens adjacent Kingsburg.
Rodriguez was sentenced to death, but a authorities instrumentality passed successful 2019 allows him to petition for a caller sentence.
A resentencing proceeding was scheduled for Tuesday but continued until aboriginal successful the month.
More than a twelve of the teens' loved ones showed up to tribunal connected a rainy greeting wearing ribbons to marque it wide they won't beryllium forgotten.
"Just to marque definite justness is carried retired and conscionable truthful the judge, the community, and the different broadside tin spot that we're inactive here, we're not going anywhere, we're united, and we're present for the agelong haul," said Richie Hernandez.
This is the 2nd clip successful months the household has fought for justness to beryllium maintained successful the murders. In August, the shooter, Stanley Michael Skala, was up for parole, which was denied.
His refusal to be tribunal connected Tuesday arsenic a witnesser led to Rodriguez's proceeding being delayed.
Skala is serving his clip astatine Centinela State Prison successful Imperial County. The justice explained she would request to record a tribunal bid to compel him to appear.
The resentencing proceeding is present scheduled for February 27th.
Three witnesses are acceptable to attest successful the hearing. The Hernandez household volition not beryllium asked to attest oregon supply statements.
Action News asked Jerry Rodriguez's household members who attended tribunal Tuesday greeting if they would similar to remark and they declined.
For quality updates, travel Kate Nemarich connected Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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