Mario Banuelos, 51, was sentenced in court Tuesday (October 26) to two life sentences without the possibility of parole for the 1994 double murder of 17-year-old Jesus Munoz and 24-year-old Portirio Chavez Cardenas as well as the attempted murder of Munoz’s brother, then 22-year-old Enrique Munoz. Banuelos was found guilty of the gruesome crimes in April 2021. The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said that on April 14, 1994, the victims were told to go to a Coachella Valley home by Mario Banuelos or his brother. There, the three victims were assaulted and then forced into a van, driven to an unknown dirt road in Morongo Valley, tied up, and shot. Despite multiple gunshot wounds, Enrique Munoz survived, while his brother and Cardenas died from the gunshots.
While warrants were issued for the Banuelos brothers, the case went cold. In July 2018, detectives learned from the U.S. Marshal’s fugitive task force that Banuelos’ brother was shot and killed in Sonora, Mexico. In January of 2019, Mario Banuelos was arrested at the Yuma border crossing and finally brought in the face charges for the murders.
The Banuelos family was eyeing a retrial in the case, which is why the sentencing was postponed in July of 2021 to September, and then again until Tuesday, October 26.
Mario Banuelos was sentenced to two life sentences without the possibility of parole for the murders, seven years to life for the attempted murder, with three 10-year enhancements for using a firearm during his crimes, with Judge Rodney Cortez presiding over the sentencing.
