Federal Jury Convicts El Paso Man In Connection With Murder-For-Hire Plot

EL PASO - Samuel Velasco Gurrola, 41 years old, faces mandatory life in federal prison after a jury convicted him this afternoon of his role in a murder-for-hire

Jurors convicted Gurrola of three counts of conspiracy to commit murder in a foreign country and four counts of conspiracy to cause foreign travel for murder for hire. According to evidence presented in during trial, in 2008, Velasco Gurrola was married to Ruth Sagredo Escobedo. At the time, Velasco Gurrola was under indictment in El Paso County for aggravated sexual assault of a child and indecency with a child.

Evidence further revealed that from September 2008 until November 2008, the defendant conspired with his brother, 30-year-old Emmanuel Velasco Gurrola and his sister, 44-year-old Dalia Valencia, and others to kill Sagredo while in Mexico in order to prevent her from testifying in the State case.
Testimony revealed that Samuel Velasco Gurrola arranged to have Sagredo’s father and sister killed in an attempt to lure Sagredo to Mexico.

On October 3, 2008, Francisco Maria Sagredo Villareal, Gurrola’s father-in-law, was murdered in his house in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico. On November 20, 2008, Francisco’s daughter, Cinthia Sagredo Escobedo, was murdered in Ciudad Juarez. Two days later, while traveling to her
sister Cinthia’s funeral, Ruth Sagredo Escobedo was ambushed and murdered.

Prior to jury selection, Emmanuel Velasco Gurrola pleaded guilty to three counts of conspiracy to kill in a foreign country and one count of conspiracy to violate the Racketeering Influenced Corrupt (RICO) statute; Dalia Valencia pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the RICO statute.

Emmanuel Velasco Gurrola and Dalia Valencia both face up to life in federal prison. Sentencings are scheduled as follows: Emmanuel Velasco Gurrola - December 6, 2016; Dalia Valencia - December 15, 2016; and Sammy Velasco Gurrola -- January 25, 2017.  All three remain in federal custody pending sentencing.

This investigation was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations and the Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance from the United States Marshals Service and the El Paso Police Department.

The DEA El Paso Division encourages parents, and their children to visit the following interactive websites at www.justthinktwice.com, www.GetSmartAboutDrugs.com and www.dea.gov.