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Man gets life sentence for murder over 1996 Impala

 

By David Ovalle

dovalle@MiamiHerald.com

A 26-year-old Miami man who carjacked and gunned down a West Miami-Dade paper company employee will spend the rest of his life behind bars.

Miami-Dade Circuit Judge William Thomas on Tuesday sentenced Cesar Ruiz, 26, to life in prison for the June 2007 murder of Andres Felipe Del Castillo, who worked for Dade Paper Co.

Prosecutors said Ruiz targeted Castillo for his 1996 Impala, then shot him dead even as Castillo — a born-again Christian — showed him his Bible and urged him to find God.

A jury convicted Ruiz in October. The trial of his co-defendant, Emilio Perez-Tejon, began this week.

Ruiz, on Tuesday, insisted he was innocent. Judge Thomas said he was disturbed by Ruiz’s lack of remorse despite “overwhelming evidence of guilt.”

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