| For Immediate Release Case # 02WF2857
September 14, 2012 |
Susan Kang Schroeder Chief of Staff Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718 Farrah Emami
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MAN SENTENCED TO 26 YEARS TO LIFE IN PRISON FOR MURDERING EX-GIRLFRIEND BY STABBING HER AND SLITTING HER THROAT
SANTA ANA – A man was sentenced today to 26 years to life in state prison for murdering his ex-girlfriend by stabbing her on her way to work. Ruben Retana Perez, 34, Whittier, was found guilty by a jury Aug. 1, 2011, of one felony count of murder with a sentencing enhancement for the personal use of a deadly weapon.
Beginning in 1996, Perez had an on and off 5-year romantic relationship with 29-year-old Rocio Leon. Perez and Leon had a baby boy in 1999. Following their son’s birth, Perez became abusive toward Leon and her child from a previous relationship.
At approximately 3:30 a.m. on April 18, 2001, Perez got in Leon’s truck and drove with the victim to take her to work at an Orange County Register newspaper distribution center in Garden Grove. While driving to Leon’s work, Perez got out of the car and murdered Leon by slitting the victim’s throat using a kitchen knife and stabbing her two times in the chest. The defendant got back into the car and ran over Leon’s body before fleeing the scene.
Later that morning, Perez went to his work and requested a $1,000 cash pay advance. Perez never returned to work and abandoned the victim’s car in Stanton before fleeing the state. After further investigation linking Perez to the murder, a warrant was issued for his arrest, Dec. 17, 2002.
Approximately five years later, on July 19, 2008, Perez was arrested by police in Arkansas under the alias of Yovani Cortez for driving under the influence of alcohol. Arkansas authorities learned of the defendant’s true identity and the Orange County warrant for Leon’s murder. In September 2008, Perez was extradited back to Orange County to face the murder charges.
The Garden Grove Police Department investigated the case. Senior Deputy District Attorney Cameron Talley prosecuted this case.
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