A transient pleaded guilty Friday and was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison for killing a man in the city of Orange.
Mario Anthony Delatorre, 38, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the Oct. 15, 2020, death of 65-year-old Juan Murillo. Delatorre also pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of possession of a controlled substance.
Delatorre has 2,128 days credit in custody since his arrest.
Police were sent just before 10:30 a.m. for a report on the southeast corner of Tustin Street and Chapman Avenue regarding a “man down,” Lt. Phil McMullen of the Orange Police Department said in 2020.
Murillo, who was pronounced dead at the scene, “lived down the street” and “was out for a little stroll” when he was attacked, McMullin said.
“Witnesses described an altercation between the victim and another male adult,” he said.
Police found the suspect about 45 minutes later at Tustin Street and Rock Creek Drive and took him into custody, McMullin said.
At Delatorre’s preliminary hearing, police testified that they were called to the corner in front of the Selman Chevrolet car dealership regarding a man acting erratically about 9:30 a.m. and received another call about an hour later.
Police recovered surveillance video from the car dealer that showed the suspect following the victim before pushing him down and “stomping” him, police testified.
Employees from the car dealership in the area saw the victim’s body and called police.
Delatorre was seen by an officer on patrol near Hart Park. When the officer tried to detain the Delatorre, the suspect attempted to run away and hurled bags of drugs away in the process, police testified.