Andujo sentenced to 35 years

The third and final Odessa man convicted in the 2007 fatal shooting of 18-year-old Hector Medrano was sentenced to 35 years in prison Thursday.

Fernando Andujo, 22, pleaded guilty after giving testimony against Daniel S. Orona in Orona’s December 2009 murder trial. Orona was convicted and sentenced to life without parole.

Israel L. Lujan, 21, pleaded guilty and was sentenced Wednesday to 25 years in prison.

Andujo and Lujan both admitted to going to the Spanish Oaks Apartments to rob Medrano, but pointed the finger at Orona for firing the deadly shotgun blast. Andujo reportedly fired a shot that grazed Medrano’s brother.

District Attorney Bobby Bland said the sentence wrapped up a difficult case where prosecutors didn’t know who had been the fatal shooter when they first received it.

“Getting a life sentence for the shooter and 25 years and 35 years for his codefendants far exceeds our expectations when we first received this case,” Bland said.