Burnt River Farms, a marijuana dispensary in Ontario, was the scene of a murder in March. Monday, Luis Carlos Duran, 20, was sentenced to 24 years in prison for the crime. (File photo/courtesy Burnt River Farms)
VALE – A Nampa man who stabbed to death another man in public view outside a marijuana dispensary will serve more than 20 years in prison.
Luis C. Duran, 20, was sentenced in a Monday hearing in Malheur County Circuit Court to 24 years in prison for the death of Jonah Noel Reyes, 26, outside the Burnt River dispensary in Ontario March 1.
Duran pleaded guilty to second- degree manslaughter and first-degree assault earlier this month.
Another man involved in the attack, Gerardo L. Lopez, 27, pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter in September and was sentenced to more than seven years in prison.
Dave Goldthorpe, Malheur County district attorney, said the killing followed a verbal altercation between the three men inside the dispensary.
“None of the parties actually knew each other,” said Goldthorpe.
Goldthorpe said after the verbal altercation, Duran and Lopez, stepped outside and waited for Reyes. When Reyes came out the front door, Duran stabbed him between the ribs and punctured his heart with a folding knife.
Reyes “didn’t have any time to react,” said Goldthorpe.
Goldthorpe said the incident wasn’t gang-related.
“I think it is the best resolution we could have possibly gotten without going to trial,” said Goldthorpe.
A die-hard Philadelphia Eagles fan, Reyes grew up in Ontario and graduated from Harper High School where he played on the basketball team.
News tip? Contact reporter Pat Caldwell at [email protected]
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