Case # 12CF3351
Date: November 24, 2014
MAN CONVICTED OF SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES STABBING-MURDER OF FORMER GIRLFRIEND IN SANTA ANA ALLEYWAY
SANTA ANA – A man was convicted today of stabbing and murdering his former girlfriend in a Santa Ana alleyway. Luis Antonio Garcia Morales, 26, Santa Ana, was found guilty by a jury of one felony count of special circumstance murder by lying in wait. The sentencing enhancement for the personal use of a deadly weapon was found true. Morales faces a sentence of life in state prison without the possibility of parole at his sentencing Jan. 23, 2015, at 9:00 a.m. in Department C-35, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana.
On the evening of Nov. 13, 2012, Morales arranged to meet with 21-year-old Maria Isabel Cerrillo, with whom he had a previous romantic relationship, by pretending to be someone else. The defendant met his ex-girlfriend in an alleyway in Santa Ana, murdered her by stabbing her repeatedly, and then fled the scene. The victim died from multiple stab wounds.
Morales was arrested on the morning of Nov. 15, 2012, by the Santa Ana Police Department, who investigated this case.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Jim Mendelson of the Homicide Unit is prosecuting this case.