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EDINBURG — The 62-year-old Pharr man found guilty of killing his brother with a pickaxe in 2021 because he wouldn’t loan him $100 has been sentenced.
David Davila Sandoval was sentenced to 45 years in prison with 849 days credit for the death of his brother, 66-year-old Ruben Sandoval.
A jury convicted him in August.
Ruben Sandoval’s body was found in the bed of a truck, covered with a blanket at Memorial Park in Pharr on April 21, 2021.
At the hearing, David Davila Sandoval’s defense attorney O. Rene Flores compared his client to the biblical character Cain who murdered his brother Abel and was punished by God to a life of wandering.
Flores asked state District Judge Fernando Mancias to sentence David Davila Sandoval to 25 years in prison.
Prosecutors argued that David Davila Sandoval’s drug addiction and childhood isn’t an excuse for his actions and cited various times he threatened family members and court staff.
They added that the trial revealed he had brutally struck Ruben Sandoval in the head enough times to make sure he was dead and was a danger to society based on all the weapons found in his home.
“We shouldn’t wait until he hurts another family member,” the prosecutor said.
The state asked for a life sentence.
After receiving his sentence, David Davila Sandoval had to hear from his nephew and Ruben Sandoval’s son, Rudy Sandoval, and David Davila Sandoval’s brother, Raul Sandoval.
Rudy Sandoval went after his uncle with no remorse stating that he only cares about himself and his drugs.
“Time doesn’t heal the pain,” Rudy Sandoval said over a Zoom video call. “The pain is a life sentence for me and my family.”
He stated that David Davila Sandoval wanted the $100 he asked from Ruben Sandoval to buy cocaine and methamphetamines and called his uncle a “disgrace.”
“If you put him in the electric chair, I’ll pay the electric bill,” Rudy Sandoval said as he spoke directly to Mancias.
Raul Sandoval felt it was pointless to insult his brother, but chose to tell his brother to ask the family for forgiveness.
He reminded him that his mother is still alive, but is unaware of the entire situation as she suffers from dementia stating that if she was aware, she would defend David Davila Sandoval.
The defendant began to cry once he heard from his brother.
“You still have mom, remember that,” Raul Sandoval said. “God help you.”
