2 get life without parole for deadly shooting at Hampton Inn

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — Two men found guilty of gunning down a man in the parking lot of the Hampton Inn on Oak Street were sentenced Friday to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Angel Cordero, 27, and Jerry Ortega, 23, were convicted in June of murder and other charges in the 2021 slaying of Billy Anthony Avila, 40.

Prosecutors say Cordero and Ortega arrived at the Hampton Inn in a Nissan Altima and waited four hours for Avila to leave. As Avila began placing items in his vehicle, Cordero and Ortega opened fire from the Nissan, prosecutors say, then ran up and fired more shots.

A total of 15 rounds were fired. Eleven hit Avila. He died at the scene.

Prosecutors say DNA evidence in the Nissan linked Cordero to the shooting. DNA evidence at the scene came back to Ortega.

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