A 28-year-old Hidalgo man was sentenced to 33 years in prison for his involvement in a fatal stabbing that took place at an Edinburg motel in 2020 after he reached a deal with prosecutors on the eve of his trial.
Court documents show that Cornelio Mata Jr. pleaded guilty on Wednesday to the murder of 29-year-old Yadiel Miguel Morales.
He was sentenced that same day and was credited for the more than 2 1/2 years has spent in the Hidalgo County Adult Detention Center.
Mata had been scheduled to go to trial this week.
Morales was found with multiple stab wounds to the right and left side of his upper body, as well as his right arm, on June 3, 2020, at the Texas Inn, located at 1210 E. Canton Road.
He was found on the ground by a stairwell near room 102, a probable cause affidavit stated. He was transported to a local hospital where he died the following morning.
The probable cause affidavit indicated that the men had orchestrated a scheme to set up the sale of a pound of cocaine to rob Morales, who was from South Carolina, of $11,000.
Stephen Santos, 36, was also arrested after the fatal stabbing.
He is charged with one count of capital murder and a count of evading arrest and has pleaded not guilty.
Santos and another man sustained gunshot wounds during the incident and were treated at a local hospital.
He remains jailed on a total of $1,100,000 in bonds.
