Sep 30, 4:00 AM EDT


Man sentenced for killing 2 illegal immigrants



TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) -- A judge has sentenced a Mexican citizen to 21 years in prison for shooting at a truck filled with illegal immigrants, killing two passengers.

Pima County Superior Court Judge Richard S. Fields gave 20-year-old Martin Gaxiola Flores a sentence identical to that given co-defendant Rosario Humberto Araujo-Monares last week.

The two men were indicted on first-degree murder charges in the March 30, 2007, deaths of a 30-year-old man and a 28-year-old woman.

Both men pleaded guilty to two second-degree murder charges.

Both admitted they were recruited to shoot at the truck carrying immigrants, believing it was really carrying drugs.

Fields imposed two concurrent 21-year sentences Monday. With 549 days credit for time served, Flores will spend 19.5 years in prison.

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