The sentence followed a guilty plea to second-degree murder with a deadly weapon in the January killing of Yaimara Leyva-Cadet.

LAS VEGAS, Nev. — A Las Vegas man was sentenced to 14 to 35 years in prison after admitting that he killed his girlfriend during an argument at the home where they rented a room, closing the criminal case with a punishment that reflected both his immediate acceptance of responsibility and the seriousness of the fatal attack.

Jose Galan-Preval, 47, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder with use of a deadly weapon in the Jan. 23 death of Yaimara Leyva-Cadet. At his July 14 sentencing, District Judge Jacqueline Bluth imposed a term consisting of 10 to 25 years for the murder and an additional four to 10 years because a deadly weapon was used. Prosecutors had sought a substantially longer weapon enhancement, while the defense emphasized Galan-Preval’s remorse, lack of a prior criminal record and statements taking responsibility after the killing. The final sentence leaves him facing at least 14 years in prison before he can reach the lower end of the court-imposed range.

The sentencing hearing centered on how much weight the court should give circumstances raised by Galan-Preval’s public defender without minimizing what happened to Leyva-Cadet. Defense attorney Jin Kim-Steadman described a relationship under financial and emotional strain after the couple came to the United States from Cuba. She told the court that Galan-Preval was working while Leyva-Cadet was unemployed and said tensions had also developed over suspicions of infidelity. Those assertions were presented as part of the defense argument for punishment and did not excuse the killing. Police records describe a far more immediate sequence on the day of the attack: Galan-Preval retrieved a knife and stabbed Leyva-Cadet after an argument inside the Las Vegas residence.

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police said the first call about the stabbing came at approximately 12:56 p.m. on Jan. 23 from a residence in the 1800 block of Canosa Avenue. Officers arrived and found Leyva-Cadet suffering from apparent stab wounds inside the home. She was moved outside so medical personnel could treat her and was taken to Sunrise Hospital, where she died later that day. The police department initially announced that detectives had identified Galan-Preval, then 46, as the suspect and determined that he had stabbed his girlfriend during an argument. He was booked at the Clark County Detention Center on an open murder charge with a deadly weapon before the case was later resolved by his guilty plea.

Witness accounts contained in the arrest report gave investigators a detailed picture of what happened inside the shared home. Police interviewed members of the family from whom Galan-Preval and Leyva-Cadet rented a room. A woman in the house told officers that the couple had been in the living room when Galan-Preval asked Leyva-Cadet to make rice and she appeared unwilling to do so. According to the account summarized by police, Galan-Preval left the area briefly and returned with a knife. The woman’s son said he heard his mother calling for help and went into the living room, where he saw Galan-Preval holding the knife and Leyva-Cadet injured. He and his father disarmed Galan-Preval and tried to help her.

After being disarmed, Galan-Preval left through a rear sliding door, according to the witness account. Police said he drove away in a black Dodge Durango registered to Leyva-Cadet. Before leaving, he made a statement accepting responsibility for what had happened, the homeowner told investigators. That early acknowledgment became one of several facts the defense later emphasized at sentencing. It did not end the immediate police response, however. Officers were still at the Canosa Avenue residence when dispatchers received another call, this one from Galan-Preval himself. Police said he indicated that he might harm himself, leading authorities to use his phone information to locate him.

Officers eventually found Galan-Preval in a desert area east of Hollywood Boulevard and Vegas Valley Drive. He surrendered and was taken into custody without further violence. During a later interview, according to the arrest report summarized by KTNV, Galan-Preval told detectives that he and Leyva-Cadet had come to the United States from Cuba and had rented a room in the Las Vegas home. He also described jealousy and arguments in the relationship, saying Leyva-Cadet had accused him of infidelity and had wanted to inspect his phone the night before the killing. Those descriptions came from Galan-Preval and were not independent findings about Leyva-Cadet’s behavior.

Police said Galan-Preval told investigators that on the morning of the stabbing he had made breakfast for the couple. The arrest report says that he later retrieved a knife from the kitchen and stabbed Leyva-Cadet after, in his account, losing control of his emotions. Kim-Steadman offered a related argument months later at sentencing, telling the court that Galan-Preval had been drinking and was preparing to go to work when he asked Leyva-Cadet to make rice. The defense described the killing as an abrupt loss of control rather than a planned attack. The guilty plea meant a jury was not asked to decide competing trial theories about the degree of homicide.

The plea narrowed the legal dispute before Bluth. Galan-Preval agreed to a 10-to-25-year term for second-degree murder, while the court still had to determine the additional punishment tied to the deadly weapon. Clark County Deputy District Attorney Phil Froehlich asked for another 20 years, according to sentencing coverage. Bluth instead imposed an enhancement of four to 10 years. In explaining the sentence, the judge acknowledged that Galan-Preval had accepted responsibility quickly, had expressed remorse and had no criminal history. She also stressed the violent nature of Leyva-Cadet’s death and the difficulty of balancing those factors.

Galan-Preval addressed the court through a Spanish interpreter and asked for forgiveness. He expressed remorse and said he wished that he had been in Leyva-Cadet’s place. His statement came after his guilty plea had already established his criminal responsibility for second-degree murder. The sentencing hearing therefore was not about whether Galan-Preval had killed Leyva-Cadet, but about the length of his punishment within the framework created by the plea and Nevada’s deadly-weapon enhancement. Reports from the hearing said Leyva-Cadet’s relatives did not address the court, leaving the public record of the proceeding centered largely on the lawyers’ arguments, the defendant’s statement and Bluth’s explanation.

The case also shows the difference between the language used during an initial homicide investigation and the final disposition. Police arrested Galan-Preval for open murder with a deadly weapon, a charging designation used before prosecutors and the courts settle on the offense that will ultimately be litigated or resolved. He later admitted second-degree murder with use of a deadly weapon. That plea eliminated the need for a murder trial and established the conviction on which Bluth imposed sentence. Nothing in the sentencing outcome changes the central facts documented by police: Leyva-Cadet was attacked inside the Canosa Avenue residence, other occupants intervened, she was taken to a hospital and died, and Galan-Preval fled before contacting authorities and surrendering.

The defense’s description of disputes about employment, money, jealousy and a request for rice received attention because it was presented at sentencing as context for Galan-Preval’s state of mind. Those details do not establish that Leyva-Cadet caused or was responsible for the violence. The police account states that Galan-Preval obtained the knife and attacked her, and his guilty plea formally established his responsibility for the homicide. Bluth’s sentence reflected the court’s consideration of mitigating circumstances raised on his behalf while still adding years of imprisonment for the use of the weapon.

With the sentence imposed, Galan-Preval’s case has moved from prosecution to incarceration under the judgment entered following his plea. He faces a minimum term of 14 years and a maximum of 35 years under the sentence announced July 14. The public record reviewed for this report did not identify any further trial proceedings because the guilty plea resolved the homicide charge.

Author note: Last updated August 22, 2026.