BOSTON, Oct. 27, 2015—Two men have been sentenced to prison in the 2012 killing of 42-year-old Orlando Guerrero during a robbery in Boston’s South End, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

LUIS DIAZ (D.O.B. 8/9/84) on Wednesday pleaded guilty to charges of manslaughter, armed robbery, unlawful possession of a firearm, and unlawful possession of ammunition in connection with Guerrero’s shooting death.  Suffolk Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Locke sentenced him to 15 to 17 years in state prison followed by two years of probation, during which he must remain drug-free and undergo any drug treatment deemed necessary.

A second man, JOSE CARRASQUILLO (D.O.B. 3/6/71), today pleaded guilty to a charge of manslaughter for his role in Guerrero’s killing; he pleaded guilty last year to a charge of armed robbery in connection with the case.  Locke today sentenced Carrasquillo to 13 to 15 years in prison, to run concurrently with the five year sentence he is currently serving on the robbery plea.

Both men had been indicted on a charge of first-degree murder.

Had the case proceeded to trial, Assistant District Attorney Tara Burdman of the DA’s Homicide Unit would have presented evidence and testimony to prove that Guerrero’s body was discovered on Dec. 15, 2012, in the area of 11 Windsor St. The pedestrian who spotted the body flagged down a passing Boston Police officer, who observed Guerrero lying on the ground near the open driver’s side door of his vehicle with his pants pockets turned out.  He was pronounced dead of a gunshot wound to the head.

One 9 mm shell casing was located near the victim’s vehicle and a spent round was found inside the vehicle.

Despite the efforts of Boston Police homicide detectives, no further forensic evidence or witnesses were located and no video of the crime existed – a frequent challenge at outdoor shooting scenes.

In March of 2013, Boston Police received information from a person in custody linking Diaz and Carrasquillo to the murder.  In interviews with police, Carrasquillo made statements that he was hired through Diaz to help rob Guerrero.  Though he was aware that Diaz was armed with a gun that day, Carrasquillo told police that he believed he was only taking part in a robbery.  The testimony would have proved that Diaz pulled out the gun while Carrasquillo rifled through the victim’s pockets and stole cash.  Diaz then shot Guerrero and the two defendants fled in different directions.

Diaz was represented by Jim Coviello and Carrasquillo by Keith Halpern.

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All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.