After six days of jury deliberations and three weeks of trial, a verdict was reached in the rare two-defendant murder trial where co-defendants were facing the death penalty.
Ysrael Granda and Jonathan Rico were facing murder charges for the 2012 fatal shooting that took the life of 42-year-old Jose Soto in Miami Lakes.
Police believe while in jail, Granda ordered his friend Rico to kill Soto.
On Thursday, after more than a decade since the shooting, jurors found Granda guilty of conspiracy to commit murder in the first degree, murder in the first degree, tampering, soliciting murder, and burglary.
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However, after several weeks of being co-defendants, a verdict divided the two men.
Granda’s case now enters a penalty phase expected to start in the upcoming weeks, where only eight jurors will be needed to recommend the death penalty.
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On the other hand, jurors spared Rico’s life. The man who police believed shot Soto in the back and through the neck, was acquitted of being the shooter. Jurors only found Rico guilty of conspiracy.
Rico avoided the penalty phase and will be sentenced in the upcoming weeks, facing up to 30 years in prison.
For several weeks, the pair sat through hours of testimony including investigators and family members.
For Granda, the trial became very personal when his brother Wilber Granda testified against him. Wilber told jurors his brother ordered the murder from jail because he was jealous the victim was dating his ex.
Wilber Granda pleaded guilty last July for his involvement. He avoided prison time with a maximum of up to life in prison and instead was sentenced to 10 years probation.
Granda’s ex-girlfriend Lisania Quintero also pleaded guilty to her involvement in Soto’s murder – the man she was also dating. Quintero was sentenced to 13 years and testified in front of jurors earlier in the trial.
