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Updated at 4:58 p.m.
A 60-year-old man has been convicted of stabbing and killing a former Harlingen High School football player in the middle of the night nearly three years ago.
Cameron County District Attorney Luis V. Saenz said a jury convicted Juan Lozano of murder in less than two hours.
Later that afternoon, he was sentenced to life in prison.
Lozano killed Lesley Maurice Hunter at approximately 1:30 a.m. on Oct. 26, 2020 after knocking on Hunter’s door, Saenz said.
Police arrived at the scene in the 3200 block of North 77 Sunshine Strip and found Hunter bleeding on the side of the road conscious but in critical condition, according to a news release.
Police said at the time that Hunter told officers the man entered his residence and began an altercation where he was stabbed multiple times.
Saenz said that Lozano tried to convince the jury that he killed Hunter in self defense.
“That’s an absurdity,” Saenz said prior to Lozano being sentenced.
In a news release after the sentencing, Saenz said Lozano kicked Hunter’s door in the middle of the night.
“When Mr. Hunter opened the door, a struggle ensued between him and the defendant,” Saenz said in the release. “The defendant, Mr. Lozano then stabbed Mr. Hunter to death as Mr. Hunter defended himself in his home.”
Lozano was a stranger to Hunter.
Hunter is known to many Harlingen Cardinal football fans as one of the school’s greatest running backs of all time, Cameron County Commissioner Gus Ruiz said at the time of Hunter’s death.
“You may remember Lesley Maurice Hunter was a star running back at Harlingen High School, he was also a father to three daughters,” Saenz said in a news release. “He did not deserve to be murdered in his own home. At the end of the verdict, Hunter’s family expressed their sincere thanks for the case being brought to a closure.”
There are two other suspects in the case who are charged with murder, 45-year-old Eduardo Aceves and 46-year-old Angel Pizano.
Aceves appeared in court Monday where his bond was revoked.
Pizano, who is in custody, is scheduled for a court hearing later this month.
Editor’s note: This story was updated to include Lozano’s sentencing, and with new information from the Cameron County District Attorney’s Office.
