Lubbock Man Admits to Death of a Man From 1998

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A Lubbock man was sentenced to 7 years in prison on Tuesday, September 20th for manslaughter in relation to the death of a man back in 1998.

26-year-old Jessie Ordonez had attended a New Year's Eve party in the 2400 block of 3rd Street on January 1st, 1998. He was beaten to death that same night and was found by police lying in the front yard. He was pronounced dead not even an hour after arriving at the hospital. What exactly led to this deadly fight wasn't made clear in news reports.

Police say the 2 responsible were now-44-year-old Gabriel Lopez and 42-year-old Lee Lopez. Both brothers were suspects in Ordonez's death originally, but a grand jury didn't indict them in 2007, according to KAMC News.

However, in the past couple of years, investigators began looking for additional evidence relating to the case, re-interviewing people associated with the investigation and even traveling to Idaho to question potential witnesses and suspects. Investigators were eventually able to secure an arrest warrant for the brothers in June of 2019. Gabriel was arrested in Lubbock while Lee was arrested in Canyon County, Idaho.

On Tuesday, September 20th, Gabriel took a plea deal for manslaughter. He was sentenced to 7 years in state prison but had over 3 years of credit for time he had already spent in jail.