Manhattan Heights rapist to be sentenced for latest trial Tuesday
The convicted Manhattan Heights rapist was back in court Monday after pleading guilty to the most recent charges on trial.
Two weeks ago, Arturo Valtierra-Payan pleaded guilty to three more counts of aggravated sexual assault and one count each of burglary and aggravated robbery. These guilty pleas all stem from the same case, a June 2013 attack where he threatened a woman with an ice pick as he assaulted her in her central El Paso home.
Back in August 2014, an El Paso jury found Valtierra guilty of attacking and raping another woman who lived in Manhattan Heights. The rapes in the same central El Paso neighborhood happened over the summer of 2013. He is already serving four life sentences and 99 year in prison concurrently for that conviction.
Judge Luis Aguilar asked called for 24 hours to decide Valtierra’s fate will be after hearing witnesses and closing arguments from both sides at the county courthouse in Downtown El Paso Monday morning. Valtierra will find out Tuesday at 1:30 pm if he could face additional life sentences for the June 2013 ice pick assault.
Valtierra listened today through an interpreter as witnesses and closing arguments were made from both sides in the 243rd district court.
The court heard from witnesses from the prosecution and defense in today’s sentencing hearing, including Valtierra’s victims from other cases and psychological experts. Valtierra’s mother also took the stand, describing the violent household where he grew up with abuse from his father.
Neither the prosecution nor defense was willing to talk after the trial recessed for the day, but made impassioned arguments for what Valtierra’s fate should be during closings.
Prosecutor Beto Acosta argued for the maximum sentence of life in prison for Valtierra, and said “(the victim’s) lives are destroyed…they have to live in the cell that (Valtierra) made for them.”
Defense attorney Linda Estrada argued for a lesser sentence to give Valtierra chance to work with programs for violent sex offenders to reduce repeat offenses. She said “(Valtierra is) going to have to struggle every day for the rest of his life in prison.”
This is just the latest step in the long legal process that Valtierra can expect for his admitted and alleged crimes. He’s only partially through the number of cases pending against him. He faces 5 to 99 years or life in prison for each of 5 counts is this case, and is already concurrent for the 2013 attack he was convicted of last year.
Ahead are even more trials, both for an alleged attack on a couple in their Manhattan Heights home in the summer of 2013, and other cases pending in fort worth.
