A 2015 murder changed the lives of two families forever, killing one father and sending another to prison for the next five decades, a local judge said.
Candelario Cruz-Trujillo, 38, of Indianapolis, was sentenced to 56 years in prison after he was found guilty of murdering Miguel Hernandez in a three-day trial in September. Cruz-Trujillo had been charged with murdering Hernandez in the parking lot of the Four Season Restaurant on Sept. 30, 2015, after learning about an affair his wife was having with Hernandez.
The families of both men will struggle to pick up the pieces of their lives, Johnson County Circuit Court Judge Mark Loyd said.
Loyd sentenced to Cruz-Trujillo to 56 years in prison, and noted how the murder impacted both families. Hernandez’s children lost their father, and Cruz-Trujillo will have no meaningful relationship with his kids for more than half a century, he said.
“You made a choice for all those children,” Loyd said to Cruz-Trujillo.
Hernandez’s 11-year-old daughter spoke to the court, saying her dad loved her and that she still cries for him.
“I wish I could hug him, but I know he is in a better place,” she said.
Hernandez’s wife told Loyd that she wants justice done, so that her children will know that those who commit crimes will have to pay for what they’ve done.
Her husband was the pillar of her home and was everything for her family, she said.
Cruz-Trujillo told Loyd he was very sorry for everything that happened.
Loyd said he believed Cruz-Trujillo was genuinely remorseful for his actions.
“I’m not convinced that just warehousing you in the Department of Correction is best for you, but it is the only option I have available to me,” Loyd said.
State guidelines call for a sentence of 45 to 65 years for a murder charge.
Cruz-Trujillo is a good man who did something very bad, defense attorney Andrew Baldwin said.
Baldwin argued that Cruz-Trujillo was provoked, and that he was unlikely to re-offend. Cruz-Trujillo would be better served by a shorter sentence, Baldwin said.
While Cruz-Trujillo was provoked, it didn’t justify his actions, as he ambushed Hernandez in the early morning hours before work, deputy prosecutor Joe Villanueva said.
“If a spouse is being untrue, you don’t get a gun. You get a lawyer and get divorced,” he said.
Villanueva also had argued for a longer sentence based on Cruz-Trujillo’s criminal history and his illegal immigration status. Villanueva called the 56-year sentence appropriate.
During the trial, defense attorneys argued that while Cruz-Trujillo had killed Hernandez, he was not guilty of murder and should have been charged with a lesser crime. Prosecutors contended that Cruz-Trujillo’s actions were clearly premeditated and weren’t made in the heat of the moment.
Baldwin said he plans to file an appeal, arguing that the charge filed by prosecutors wasn’t appropriate.
Cruz-Trujillo will receive more than a year’s credit for time already served.
