Bautista sentenced to 48 years for drug-fueled cookie jar murder

El Pasoan Sonia Bautista was sentenced to 48 years in prison Thursday. She will be eligible for parole after serving half that sentence.

Bautista was found guilty of murder Thursday morning. Police arrested her in 2014 along with Ricardo Macias and Brianna Garay in the 2013 death of Jose Castaon.

The three were allegedly involved in a confrontation with Castaon during an drug deal involving Ecstasy pills. Investigators said all three worked together to kill and rob Castaon after the confrontation became physical.

Bautista testified Wednesday her friend Garay called to a home in the 2900 block of Hamilton. Bautista said she didn’t they were going to get Ecstasy pills. Bautista said Castaon threatened her with a pair of scissors when she arrived and she got scared. She said she picked up a large cookie jar and broke it over Castaon’s head knocking him out.

Prosecutors argued Bautista lied police. On Wednesday, she sat quietly in the witness stand as prosecutors asked her answers Wednesday were different than the ones she gave during an interrogation in 2013. Bautista claimed officers were pressuring here and her responses back then were all lies.
The prosecution asked her how many times she hit Castaon, to which she replied, “I don’t know, I was pissed.”

Greg Anderson, Bautista’s defense attorney told ABC-7 Bautista also faced charges of aggravated robbery and aggravated assault.