A man from Willacy County has been sentenced to prison on Wednesday in connection with the tragic death of a teenager from Sebastian.
The defendant was sentenced to 30 years for causing harm to a child and an additional two years for the conviction of criminally negligent homicide.
After a week-long trial, a jury reached a verdict on Tuesday afternoon, finding a Willacy County man guilty of criminally negligent homicide instead of murder in connection with the tragic death of a Sebastian teenager in 2021.
Deliberations on the case of Ruben Gonzalez Cordoba, 39, and the tragic death of 13-year-old Jesse Harrison Jr. commenced on Monday night.
Prosecutors claimed that Harrison’s cause of death was child abuse, specifically starvation. Gonzalez Cordoba’s attorney, Nat Perez, raised concerns about Harrison’s physical condition, noting his sunken eyes and skeletal appearance. It was suggested that these symptoms may have been a result of a coronavirus infection and sepsis in the days leading up to his death.
Gonzalez Cordoba has been found guilty of one count of injury to a child by the jury. The jury acquitted him of the remaining charges brought against him.
Harrison’s mother, Sabrina Loredo, 33, and grandmother, Antonio Villarreal Gonzalez, 56, are facing charges of murder and multiple counts of injury to a child in connection with the case.
The defendants have entered a plea of not guilty and their trials have been scheduled for later this year.
Harrison was not biologically related to them, but they were responsible for the child’s well-being. The child, who attended Lyford Middle School, was receiving special education.
The jury commenced their sentencing deliberations on Tuesday afternoon but was subsequently dismissed and sent home. The discussions are ongoing on Wednesday morning.