Cleveland mass shooter suspect pleads guilty to killing 5 neighbors, faces life sentence

Shannon Ryan Image
Thursday, January 30, 2025
Cleveland mass shooter suspect pleads guilty to killing 5 neighbors, faces life sentence
A man who killed his Cleveland, Texas neighbors, including a 9-year-old, and led authorities on a days-long manhunt in 2023 has pleaded guilty.

CLEVELAND, Texas (KTRK) -- A man who killed five of his Cleveland, Texas neighbors, including a 9-year-old boy, and led authorities on a days-long manhunt in 2023 pleaded guilty to capital murder in San Jacinto County Court on Wednesday.

As part of the deal, Francisco Oropeza agreed to spend life in prison and forfeited the possibility of parole. His attorney, Anthony Osso, said additional charges could not be filed on his client under the deal.

"Anytime we can spare someone's life, we're doing the job that we set out to do," Osso said.

The San Jacinto County District Attorney's Office initially sought the death penalty. Officials said financial considerations significantly influenced their decision to offer a deal.

Oropeza is considered "indigent" - meaning taxpayers foot the bill for his defense.

According to District Attorney Todd Dillon, the 28,000-person county's budget for indigent defense is $280,000 per year. Dillon said the estimated cost of Oropeza's defense, had the county sought the death penalty in trial, was $1.2 million.

"The projected cost of a single death-capital murder trial would have exceeded the county's annual budget for court-appointed attorneys by 400%."

Dillon stressed that the families of Oropeza's victims were supportive of the plea deal.

"The consensus was that a plea without parole would spare the trauma and risk of a trial while assuring that Oropeza will suffer the consequences of his actions until he dies," Dillon said.

Dillon said his office would have proceeded with the trial if the family had not supported a plea deal.

"I don't want to give the impression that this county will just say, 'Well if we have a death capital (case), we're not gonna try it.' If that has to be the case, yes, but it will impact other families who are victims of crime as well," he said.

When asked if he felt the county needed a larger budget for indigent defense Dillon replied, "Indigent defense is always something that is helpful because what we're doing here is serious. We want the best attorneys possible who are highly qualified, and unfortunately, those attorneys cost money. What we're doing here is taking away people's liberties one way or another, and that's a serious business. There should be equally skilled, well-trained people on the other side."

Dillon acknowledged that the victim's families were concerned about the possibility of Oropeza, a Mexican national, being deported. A fear bolstered as the Trump administration says it is focused on deporting violent criminals. Both Osso and Dillon insisted that Oropeza would die in a US prison, citing current law.

"Nobody gets deported while they have a pending sentence in Texas, and his sentence, like it says (is a) lifetime. His sentence is over once he stops breathing. That's how we can be that confident," Dillon said.

The case has divided the rural City of Cleveland. At each hearing, the courthouse has not only been packed with tearful family members of victims but also supporters of Oropeza. Some have worn t-shirts in his support to court. Wednesday, a woman could be heard shouting, "We won!" as he was taken out of the courthouse.

A mother and sister of two people killed in the attack provided victim impact statements in court. Each told him about the magnitude of loss they felt and that they hoped God would forgive him.

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