LUBBOCK, Texas – In connection with the 2019 missing-person-turned-homicide of Lubbock mother Sandy Cervantes, Pablo Reyes, 30, pleaded guilty to Aggravated Robbery and was sentenced to 40 years in prison.

The incident began on June 20, when officers responded to a robbery at Lucky Mart in the 1500 block of 34th Street. According to court records, David Rodriguez, the victim of the robbery, reported being robbed, tied up, and forced into the trunk of his car by two suspects, later identified as Reyes and Brandon Jay Cruz, 35.

Investigations later revealed that Cervantes was kidnapped, shot, and killed, with her remains found in an abandoned Hockley County house on April 14, 2020. Her vehicle was discovered fully engulfed in flames on June 24, 2019.

Cruz, the other suspect in the case, pleaded guilty to Capital Murder in September and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Reyes will receive 1,648 days of credit for time spent behind bars and must serve at least half of his sentence before being eligible for parole. It’s worth noting that court documents spelled Reyes’s first name as “Pablo,” while jail records spelled it as “Paublo.”

Moving forward, Cervantes’s family has expressed their devastation, emphasizing that she was a beloved mother who is deeply missed every day. This tragic case serves as a somber reminder of the enduring pain experienced by the loved ones of the victims.