Man found guilty of Capital Murder in Midland; now faces the death penalty

Published: Jul. 3, 2024 at 11:39 AM CDT

MIDLAND, Texas (KOSA) - A Midland County Jury has found a man guilty of Capital Murder in reference to a double murder back in 2015, and will now have to decide whether Angel Luis Lebron-Rivera, 46, will be sentenced to the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole.

According to the Midland County District Attorney’s office, Lebron-Rivera shot and killed two teens, 18-year-old Ashley Cruz-Rodriguez and 19-year-old John Iglesia-Alvarez in 2015. The evidence presented at the trial showed that their bodies were put in large pits on a tree farm in Midland County, meant for landscaping waste and trash.

The teens came to the Midland from Puerto Rico, and were staying with Lebron-Rivera and his girlfriend. They were reported missing in October of 2015 by their relatives when they stopped making contact. Their bodies were not found until early 2018 when information received by the Midland County Sherrif’s Office brought investigators to a tree farm on County Road 1200 where the defendant had previously worked.

The property was excavated and the teens were found and identified through DNA.

The defendant was apprehended in the Dominican Republic and was extradited back to Midland County in late 2018 and has been in custody since then awaiting trial. Said trial started on April 2nd and continued through May and June.

According to the D.A.’s office, cases in which the State seeks the death penalty require a special jury selection process that typically takes considerably longer than the evidence itself at trial. After deliberating for five hours and 45 minutes, the jury found Lebron-Rivera guilty of Capital Murder.

Capital Murder is the only offense that the death penalty can be imposed.

The D.A.’s office reports the trial had the testimony of experts in firearms, pathology, forensic anthropology, DNA analysis, and the testimony of the Midland County Sheriff’s Department and other witnesses.

The same jury will be presented with additional evidence before deciding whether Lebron-Rivera will be sentenced to the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole.

CBS7 will continue to follow the sentencing.