The Ector County District Attorney’s Office convinced jurors to hand down convictions last month for a murder suspect and a suspected child abuser.
District Attorney Dusty Gallivan said Cristian Escarcega was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison by a jury in the 161st District Court.
According to court records, Odessa police officers received a call about shots being fired at the Agave Bar on East University Boulevard around 1:30 a.m. Oct. 31, 2021.
When officers arrived, another officer working off-duty at Steins Ultra Bar told them he saw two men shoot Jesse Sanchez, 52, and flee in a Nissan Altima. Sanchez died at Medical Center Hospital.
Officers gave chase and after 29 minutes, the Nissan was disabled and Escarcega and Martin Monge Hernandez were caught after fleeing the area on foot.
According to court documents, officers found an AR-15 style rifle and handgun in the Nissan and spent AR-15 and handgun casings at the scene of the shooting.
Escarcega and Hernandez were each indicted Jan. 11, 2022, on a first-degree murder charge.
Hernadez is set to go to trial March 25 in the 161st District Court.
A jury in the 244th District Court also convicted Johnathan McKissick of injury to a child and sentenced him to 99 years.
McKissick was indicted in April 2021 after the Ector County Sheriff’s Office accused him of severely beating his girlfriend’s 22-month-old son on Feb. 27, 2021.
Gallivan said McKissick, who has an extensive criminal history, caused permanent physical damage to the child.
The child’s mother, Diamond Rocha, pleaded guilty to injury to a child and was given eight years deferred adjudication Tuesday.
McKissick and Escarcega will be eligible for parole in 2054, Gallivan said.
