Double killer takes plea bargain

Bill Gang

Wednesday, Oct. 14, 1998 | 11:13 a.m.

A man who pursued what he thought was his cheating girlfriend and her lover -- ultimately slamming his vehicle into their car -- learned moments later on a blood-stained street, with gunpowder wafting in the air, that he was wrong.

For his mistake, Jose Francisco Rodrigues pleaded guilty Tuesday to two counts of first-degree murder in a plea bargain that will put him in prison for life with no chance of parole.

Rodrigues, 43, had watched across an alley as his girlfriend, Alicia Valesquez, climbed into a car with another man. In his all-consuming rage, Rodrigues grabbed his pistol, climbed into his car and gave chase.

What he didn't know was that the man, Luis Enrique, was only a friend and also inside the car were Enrique's wife and the couple's infant child, Deputy District Attorney Gary Guymon said.

When Rodrigues caught the car, he purposely drove into it. As he expected, Enrique stopped and climbed out.

Rodrigues paused only a moment before gunning down the man he believed was the object of his girlfriend's passions.

He then turned his attention to the one he thought had violated his trust, killing Valesquez with a volley of shots as she sat in the car holding the child, who was not injured.

The screams of Enrique's wife to spare her life and the wails of her child apparently brought Rodrigues back to a sense of reality, and he left the scene.

Guymon said that Rodrigues was wearing a "DARE to stop drugs and violence" T-shirt when he surrendered to police and said he thought his girlfriend was cheating on him.

Tuesday's plea bargain let Rodrigues escape the death penalty possibility.

Formal sentencing is set for Nov. 24 in District Judge Michael Douglas' courtroom.