Insets, top: Jesse Avalos, left, and Eduardo Robles; bottom: Amanda Nicole Lopez (Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office). Background: Anthony Velasquez during a sentencing hearing for the murders of Avalos, Robles, and Lopez (KABC).
A California man will spend the rest of his life behind bars for the murders of three people over four years because he felt they disrespected him.
On Friday, 35-year-old Anthony Velasquez received a sentence of 150 years in prison for the murders of Jesse Avalos in 2014, Eduardo Robles in 2015, and Amanda Nicole Lopez in 2018. A jury in Los Angeles convicted him on three counts of first-degree murder after 5 1/2 hours of deliberation, as reported by local news station KABC.
Addressing the court, Rozelle Lopez, Amanda Lopez’s mother, said, “You, Anthony, are and always will be nothing more than a certified homicidal serial killer who has no heart and no conscience.”
Although the last killing occurred in 2018, it wasn’t until three years later that Los Angeles County Sheriff’s investigators publicly connected the three murders. In an attempt to gather information leading to an arrest, detectives announced an $80,000 reward during an August 2021 press conference.
The first murder took place on February 11, 2014, near Telegraph Road and Arizona Avenue in East Los Angeles. Avalos, 34, received a call shortly before 11 p.m. on February 10, asking him to help someone jumpstart a vehicle, which he did about 15 minutes later. Several hours later, police found Avalos dead in his SUV in the same area.
On July 6, 2015, Robles, 38, lost his life. He got into a fight with Velasquez during a party at a residence on the 4300 block of Eagle Street in East LA. After the altercation, Velasquez climbed a fence, went to Robles’ car, and slashed all four tires. Minutes later, Velasquez approached Robles and shot him multiple times in the chest using the same firearm that killed Avalos, prosecutors claimed.
Amanda Lopez, 27, died on April 22, 2018. She was living in a homeless encampment near the East Los Angeles Courthouse. Velasquez got out of a Chrysler PT Cruiser, walked up to Lopez’s tent and fired inside as she slept, striking her in her torso and killing her.
All three of the killings occurred within roughly 2 miles of each other and had similar suspect descriptions.
Authorities arrested Velasquez and his father, Manuel Velasquez, now 55, after the press conference. Prosecutors said the elder Velasquez helped his son kill Robles and helped get rid of evidence.
Investigators believe the father was there for all three killings and served as the getaway driver for at least Lopez’s murder.
“Usually fathers protect their kids,” Lt. Hugo Reynaga told The Los Angeles Times at the time. “Well, I guess he protected Anthony from getting arrested.”
Manuel Velasquez pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and accessory after the fact in February and was sentenced to over 11 years in prison, the Los Angles Daily News reported.
At Friday’s sentencing, family members lamented the loss of their loved ones.
“There is not one day that I don’t think about my dad,” Eduardo Avalos’ daughter told the court. “I won’t ever have my dad and daughter dance. I won’t have my dad to walk me down the aisle.”
