'Pulga' gets 20-40 years in York City, PA murder

CHRISTINA KAUFFMAN
The York Dispatch
Updated: 02/03/2012 12:55:40 PM EST

An illegal immigrant who pleaded guilty to third-degree murder for luring a man to his death in York City was sentenced Friday to 20 to 40 years in state prison.

Jose Francisco Sosa-Reyes, 24, is also facing deportation back to the Dominican Republic - for the third time.

Sosa-Reyes, who is known as "Pulga," the Spanish word for flea, admitted he lured Roberto DeJesus-Vargas, 38, to the corner of Girard and Prospect streets on Jan. 9, 2010, where DeJesus-Vargas was shot eight times while sitting in his vehicle, said chief deputy prosecutor Karen Comery.

Under his open plea in December, charges of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder were dropped, and Common Pleas Judge Michael E. Bortner was given discretion to determine the length of the prison sentence.

Comery argued that Bortner should order the maximum penalty, 20 to 40 years, saying the defendant has been written up nine times during the 20 months he has been at York County Prison. He fled the state and sent police on a manhunt to avoid capture and has been deported twice in the past six years but illegally found his way back into the United States, she said. He has never held a job legally and is not a productive member of society, she said.

Defense attorney Joshua Neiderhiser emphasized his client's lack of a criminal record prior to the murder.

Bortner sided with the state, saying the assault against DeJesus-Vargas was "a cold-blooded killing, an execution" that couldn't have taken place if Sosa-Reyes hadn't used his relationship with the man to lure him into the trap.

Shooting: According to Comery, the shooting was caused by a botched drug deal. The victim was given money to buy drugs in New York City, but came back with no drugs and no money after apparently using the cash to pay off his own debt to the dealer.

Sosa-Reyes, through an interpreter, contended he only lured DeJesus-Vargas to the site of the murder, where he knew "they" were going to kill him.

An accomplice, Kenel Garcia-Cruz, 19, of York City, was also sentenced Friday for his involvement in the shooting, acting as a getaway driver and torching the van he was driving that night to destroy the evidence.

Comery and detectives previously said Sosa-Reyes was the shooter, and that at least one other person - who has not been captured - was involved.

Detective First Class Jeff Spence, present in the courtroom Friday, said he still believes Sosa-Reyes was the shooter.

Comery said the state believes the same, and Garcia-Cruz was prepared to testify that Sosa-Reyes was the gunman. But the pleas were accepted "in the interest of judicial economy and the facts of the case," she said.

Neiderhiser said his client wasn't the shooter, and he plans to file a motion for the judge to reconsider the sentence.

He said immigration officials will decide when or whether to deport Sosa-Reyes under a federal immigration detainer filed against him.

- Reach Christina Kauffman at 505-5436, ckauffman@yorkdispatch.com, or follow her on Twitter at @YDYorkCounty.

'Pulga' gets 20-40 years in York City murder - York Dispatch