Las Cruces man sentenced to 22 years for crime he committed as a 17-year-old
LAS CRUCES, New Mexico (KVIA) -- 21-year-old Jeremiah Peña-Nieto will spend the next 22 and a half years in prison for a crime he committed as a 17-year-old.
A Las Cruces jury found Peña Nieto guilty of the 2020 murder of 18-year-old Jacob Daniel Becerra.
Peña-Nieto's first time in front of a jury in May 2022 ended in a mistrial. The second trial happened in April 2024, when the jury convicted him of second-degree murder, evidence tampering, and conspiracy to commit evidence tampering.
The murder happened August 6, 2020. Police officers found Becerra shot dead inside of a crashed car at Farney Lane near West Park Drive. Police spoke to witnesses and used video footage to track down Becerra's passenger, Peña-Nieto, who police say shot and killed him.
At the sentencing, the judge said that Peña-Nieto was put into juvenile programs when he was first arrested, but he has since aged out. The judge also said that because Peña-Nieto posted himself with guns on social media "showing awareness of his intentions and actions," he was sentenced as an adult.
