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SANTA CRUZ — Superior Court Judge Timothy Volkmann has sentenced career criminal Oscar Amezcua Cabrera to life without the possibility of parole for the March 2006 murder of Joe “Jose” Cabrera (no relation). His sentence was handed down on February 24, 2017, at his hearing in a Santa Cruz County courtroom.
Cabrera was convicted on December 1, 2016, of first degree murder. It was determined that the murder, committed at gunpoint, was in accordance with the activities of a notorious prison gang known as Nuestra Familia.
The Santa Cruz County DA’s Office sought the maximum sentence — life without parole, plus 30 years.
Assistant DA Johanna Schonfield said, “[Cabrera] is a career criminal who terrorized this community. He absolutely deserves to spend the rest of his life in prison.”
At the time of the murder, Cabrera had an extensive criminal history including several stints in prison. He’d been a long-time target of law enforcement after being connected to the establishment of a faction of Nuestra Familia in Watsonville.
Cabrera fled to Mexico following Jose’s murder and stayed there until 2013 when he was apprehended through a coordinated effort by local law enforcement, FBI, and Mexican officials.
