Life sentence handed down in 2022 killing of ABQ massage parlor owner
Apr. 17—A man convicted by a jury last year of fatally shooting an Albuquerque business owner as she fought off he and another attacker was sentenced Thursday to life plus 18 years in prison.
Jorge Rivera-Ramirez, 22, was found guilty of first-degree murder, kidnapping, armed robbery and other charges in the 2022 shooting death of 45-year-old Sihui Fang.
The sentence requires Rivera-Ramirez to serve at least 30 years in prison before he begins serving the remaining 18 years.
Prosecutors told jurors that Rivera-Ramirez and a co-defendant shot Fang at least 10 times after entering her business, Wonderful Massage, on Jan. 24, 2022.
His co-defendant, Juan Carlos Hernandez, was convicted by a jury in August of first-degree murder, kidnapping, armed robbery and conspiracy in Fang's death. His sentencing has not been scheduled.
Fang, a native of an impoverished village in China, operated massage businesses in California and New Mexico and obtained U.S. citizenship.
She was killed amid a string of robberies at Asian massage businesses that had many business owners in fear.
Prosecutors told a 2nd Judicial District Court jury that the violent encounter began when Hernandez knocked on the front door of the business and asked for a massage before the two entered a room.
Jurors viewed security video from the business that captured a portion of the struggle between Fang and her attackers.
At one point, Fang unlocked the door and attempted to escape, but encountered Rivera-Ramirez standing outside the business, who pushed her back inside, prosecutors said.
Fang desperately grabbed onto the door frame, but the two attackers pulled her back into the business, prosecutors said. Hernandez pushed Fang to the floor, then grabbed her hair and dragged her down the hallway.
At some point, Fang was able to grab a handgun and exchanged gunfire with the pair, shooting Rivera-Ramirez before dying from multiple gunshot wounds.
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