Samaritan killer sentenced to 40 years to life in prison

VICTORVILLE • A 24-year-old man extradited from Mexico was sentenced to 40 years to life in prison Thursday for murdering an Apple Valley good Samaritan.

Joaquin Escobar, formerly of Victorville, was convicted of second-degree murder of Richard Avelar and discharge of a gun causing death.

Escobar showed up at a home in the 15500 block of Fourth Street in Victorville in 2006. He saw his ex-girlfriend, Christina Pinto, with Avelar and tried to drag her out of the house. Escobar got into an altercation with Avelar, who tried to protect Pinto, before shooting him in the chest.

Even after Avelar was wounded, he asked the others in the room to help Pinto.

Escobar fled to Mexico City after the shooting, but was later arrested.

The victim’s family was present at the sentencing, but didn’t make victim impact statements. The family members offered no comment to the Daily Press.

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Tomoya Shimura may be reached at tshimura@VVDailyPress.com or (760) 955-5368.