One of the two men convicted in the 2016 murder of Vinny Brewer in Pine Ridge has received 2 consecutive terms of life in prison, but used his sentencing hearing to again protest his innocence.
Francisco Villanueva was convicted in September of 1st degree premeditated murder, 1st-degree felony murder, felony use of a firearm, and 2 other felonies.
Prosecutors say Villanueva, Adan Corona, and Estevan Baquera tracked Brewer down through social media, then drove from Denver to Pine Ridge to collect a drug debt from him.
While they were in the process of kidnapping Brewer outside a basketball tournament at the SueAnne Big Crow Center in Pine Ridge, he tried to flee their car and was shot multiple times in the back.
At Villanueva’s sentencing, Brewer’s mother called her son’s death “senseless” and that he meant so much to so many. Villanueva said, “God willing, the truth will come out. I did not take their son’s life.
Federal District Judge Jeffrey Viken described the crime as “unspeakably gruesome” saying Brewer’s assailants fired multiple rounds into someone who was running away.
Adan Corona was found guilty along with Villanueva and will be sentenced February 18. Baquera is still awaiting trial, and 28-year old Myles Tuttle was sentenced 2 years ago to 9-years in prison as an accessory.