Mario Banuelos, 51, was due to be sentenced in court today (September 24) for the 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 and faces life in prison without the possibility of parole. 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 is eyeing a retrial in the case, which is why the sentencing was postponed in July of 2021. Sentencing was postponed again today until October 24
