SAN ANTONIO – A San Antonio teen convicted of murdering another teen two years ago will carry out his punishment in prison, a judge ruled on Wednesday.
Edgar De La Cruz will be transferred to prison to serve the rest of his 25-year prison sentence for the death of 17-year-old Sebastian Vasquez Carpio.
The fate of De La Cruz, who is about to turn 19, was in question as he is aging out of the juvenile system.
Wednesday’s transfer/release hearing took place for a judge to decide if the teen would be transferred to adult prison or released to serve the remaining sentence on parole. He has already served 11 months of his sentence.
We are now learning who the defendant is in this case is. Edgar De La Cruz who is now 18. We are hearing more about his life and his time in the juvenile violent offender program. pic.twitter.com/MbguNFeHHw
De La Cruz turned himself in to the police in October 2020 as they were investigating the death of Carpio. His body was found inside a burned-out car in west Bexar County the month prior.
In Wednesday’s hearing, it was revealed that De La Cruz shot Carpio and robbed a person of their vehicle. He then put Carpio’s body in that vehicle, drove it to a rural area, and set it on fire.
He later told police he knew how to dispose of a body because it was how cartel members did it in Mexico. The hearing also revealed that De La Cruz had been selling drugs for his uncle who was from Mexico and had ties with a cartel there.
San Antonio teen convicted of murder could be released after only serving 11 months of sentence
Ana Maria Carpio, Sebastian Vasquez Carpio’s mother, spoke out against De La Cruz’s release.
“I feel that 11 months is not sufficient for the state to consider his release,” said Ana Maria Carpio. “I believe in rehabilitation when one is deserving of it, but I feel this individual does not deserve to get a second opportunity.”
Carpio asked for community support as she wasn’t allowed to give a victim’s impact statement since she already made one during a previous hearing.
She posted a petition online asking for others to write statements on why the teen shouldn’t be released from jail.
Those statements were added to the court file, and the judge was able to review them before making a decision on this case.
Ana Maria Carpio looks at photo of her son Sebastian who was murdered in 2020. (Copyright 2022 by KSAT – All rights reserved.)
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