Judge Weighs Apology, Imposes Death Sentence

He stood before the judge and said he wished he could turn back the clock. His lawyer insisted that the 35-year-old landscaper from Orange was not the “worst of the worst.”

But a judge decided Tuesday that Alfredo Valencia’s life of crime should come to an end, sentencing Valencia to die for stabbing another man 14 times and slashing his victim’s throat during a 1993 robbery.

Superior Court Judge Francisco P. Briseno upheld a jury’s recommendation that Valencia be sent to California’s death row for the murder of Roberto Cruz, a 22-year-old acquaintance.

As one of his relatives wept, Valencia apologized to the judge for his actions.

“I feel very bad for what I have done, especially for the pain and sorrow I’ve caused the Cruz family, as well as my own,” he said. “I just wish this would have never happened.”

His attorney had asked the judge to reject the jury’s sentencing recommendation, and to sentence Valencia to life in prison without parole, contending that the death penalty should be saved for only the most heinous criminals.

“He’s not such a monster that he deserves the death penalty,” Deputy Public Defender Hector Chaparro said.

Briseno acknowledged that he had seen more “atrocious” slayings, but he noted Valencia’s extensive criminal background, including robberies dating back to 1979, and the vicious nature of the killing of Cruz. The victim was stabbed over and over while the two men were inside a parked car.

“You’re hearing that person,” Briseno told the defendant. “You’re seeing that person die.”

Cruz, a silk screener in Santa Ana who had been sending his earnings to his family back in rural, central Mexico, was killed after he and Valencia drove Cruz’s car to a parking lot in Cypress on Dec. 15, 1993.

After the slaying, Valencia stole a backpack that might have contained $653 from a paycheck Cruz cashed earlier that day, and tried to steal his wallet, according to Deputy Dist. Atty. Lew Rosenblum.

The victim was found in the driver’s seat, his seat belt still on. The backpack and the missing money were never recovered.

The defendant’s criminal record includes 17 convictions for armed robbery, assault with a deadly weapon and grand theft, the prosecutor said.

Before sentencing, Valencia told the county Probation Department that he had been an alcoholic since age 12 and was addicted to heroin, methamphetamine and other drugs for about 15 years.

Valencia’s defense attorneys admitted the fatal stabbing but said there was no evidence that the killing occurred during the commission of a robbery--the special circumstance allegation that made Valencia eligible for a death sentence.