Ep 25 | Luis Perez Transcript

Before we begin this podcast, please be advised that the following episode contains language that some listeners may find offensive and inappropriate. The opinions expressed by the host and guests are their own and do not reflect the views of the podcast producers. Listener discretion is advised.

In 2018, Luis Perez shot and killed his two ex-roommates and the woman who gave him the gun. I believe I should have been let out and exonerated of these charges. You still claim that you're not guilty. Why is the finger pointed at you? It didn't matter what the facts were or what the circumstances were. I just looked at it like, damn, he's a Mexican. He's illegal. But if you think along the lines, I probably done did it. I just wanna hear what your reaction is when I say those names. Joshua Hampton, Sabrina Starr, and Steven Marler. I was not the one who did this to their people.

You are now listening to the podcast Voices of a Killer. I'm bringing you the stories from the perspective of the people that have taken the life of another human. and their current situation thereafter in prison. You will see that although these are the folks that we have been programmed to hate, they all have something in common. They are all humans like us that admit that they made a mistake. Will you forgive them or will you condemn them? They are currently serving time for their murders and they give us an inside glimpse of what took place when they killed and their feelings on the matter now. Here are the voices of those who have killed.

In this episode of Voices of a Killer, we talk to Luis Perez, a man convicted of killing three people on Halloween night in 2018. A day after Luis was evicted by his landlord, Joshua Hampton, and Steven Marler were shot dead at his former residence. A third victim, Sabrina Starr, also died shortly after.

Now, this is one of the most recent cases we've covered on this podcast. Over a long, painstaking four-year trial, Luis finally received his sentencing on January 6, 2023. Over the course of his trial, his status as an undocumented immigrant garnered online attention, something we'll explore more in this interview. Today, Luis strongly professes his innocence and claims he's been the subject of prejudice because of his Mexican roots and his affiliation with gangs.

In this episode, we'll attempt to piece together what actually happened that night and examine the evidence for ourselves. Will you give Luis a chance to tell his side of the story? Sit back and listen closely to this episode of Voices of a Killer.

Do you pronounce your name Luis or Lewis? Most people call me Luis. That's pretty much what it is. If you want to use my government, then that's Luis. Okay. Let me ask you a question. Where were you born? I was born in Mexico in a state called Oaxaca. And is it accurate, like the news says, that at 18 months old you made it to the U.S. with your parents? I really... I don't know for real. I can't really tell you how old I was because I was an infant literally, just, never had grown up, and then I basically came over the state line.

How would you describe your childhood growing up? My childhood? I'm going to keep it all the way real with you. I can't say that I struggled. I can't say that I didn't have a father figure, a family figure, like I had all that. I had a good home. My parents just were never home because they wanted to provide us with a good life. So they was always working. What did they do for a living? My father, he works general warehouse work, so basically forklift and general labor, stuff like that. He did construction for a while too. He broke his back, then went to warehousing. Yeah, so lots of hours that he worked? Yeah, basically from sunup to sundown. F***ing six in the morning, he was already out the door, didn't come back home until eight, seven o'clock at night.

Where did you mostly grow up in the United States? I mostly grew up in New Jersey in a city called New Brunswick. Is that a smaller kind of place or is it got a lot of population? Okay, so I'm gonna put it to you like this. It's a college town for real because the university that's there is Rutgers University.

How would you describe how you got along with the community, you know, being Mexican and being born in Mexico? Alright, it's pretty complex, for real, because, to me, I feel like I grew up here. So there was a lot of stigmatism against Mexicans growing up. So the main thing is, a lot of people were afraid of being deported, and being afraid of just generally growing up, because you never knew what was the next raid, or if the police was going to arrest you for whatever reason, you fit a description. It's hard growing up Mexican, but for me, I took it like I was a U.S. citizen. I went to school here. I did everything. Anybody that's listening right now that's a U.S. citizen, I don't see no difference between me and you. Sure. Did you graduate high school? Yeah, I got my high school diploma from a school called New Brunswick High School.

Yeah, did you ever have any run-ins with the law in New Jersey? Oh, man. Yeah, I had a few of them. I had a few simple run-ins with the law. It was pretty much petty stuff until I grew up and became... After 18 years old, it seemed that when I turned 18, that's when the real stuff started happening. But before that, I can't really say that I had real run-ins with them. Little verbal warnings and, don't do this, don't do that, little slaps on the wrist. After I turned 18, that's really when I really got locked up. The first time I got locked up was in front of my dad's eyes. Literally, I just dropped the model work. That's like, I'd say about literally a block away from my job, I got handcuffed. For what? Supposedly, I was supposed to be suspended license or something like that because I didn't ... I failed to complete a class. So I didn't know about this, but I did have a New Jersey driver's license, I had all that, I had it all cleared up and everything. But I just didn't know that I had a suspended license at the time, and at the same time, I didn't know I had to take this dumbass class.

Did you ever do any serious crimes in New Jersey, like any felonies? Or accused of any? I got two warrants. I don't know if it's like real serious because it's still up in the air. I was going to court for it, but I was going to court for domestic violence that I had with my baby mother. That's still pending and up in the air. They're trying to come see me about that right now. That's pretty much it. But other than that, no.

Luis grew up with immigrant parents in a college town in New Jersey. When he was just a young toddler, his parents left Oaxaca and crossed illegally into the US, seeking what all parents want for their kids, a better life.

Over the border, they carved out a stable upbringing for Luis, his father doing back-breaking manual labor to get by. Growing up Mexican, Luis has dealt with his fair share of racism over the years, not to mention the constant fear of deportation. But America is Luis' home. Though he might be undocumented, Luis has no memory of Mexico. He spent his formative years in New Jersey and considers himself as American as anybody else. In spite of a supportive home life, Luis got caught up in criminal activity early on. After high school, things took a more serious turn when Luis faced charges of domestic assault against two of his ex-girlfriends.

It was also around this time that Luis picked up and left New Jersey for Springfield, Missouri. What drove his relocation, I wondered. Was he chasing a new beginning? Trying to distance himself from his past?

You have ties... Obviously, you were born, raised, most of your upbringing is New Jersey. But your crime happened in Springfield, Missouri. What got you from there to Springfield, Missouri? Okay. This is really what started this journey. Like I was saying, I had that current warrant with my baby mother about the situation that happened over there in Jersey. Stuff happens, we get into arguments, things don't go well, and we have disagreements. And at the time we were young. Thinking back on it now, things could have been done different. Things would have been way different if I would have handled things differently.

So I was going to court for that, and at the time I'm going to court, I had another girlfriend, and the girlfriend was in and out of the relationship. So she would be with me and then not be with me. So she'll sometimes stay with me, sometimes she wouldn't stay with me sometimes. But she was in and out, and on top of that she was married. It's a no situation for me. I already know I'm going to lose in this situation. Me and her had a domestic violence situation going on, but with her it was more he said she said because she was never hurt, never touched, nothing. All it was, I told her straight up, "Look, I don't want to be with you. I don't want nothing to do with you. Leave me the f*** alone. F*** you. Get out of my face." Next thing, a day later, police looking for me, and they told me that... my mom told me that they were looking for me for a domestic assault warrant.

So I'm thinking, "Okay, this ain't gonna turn out right." Off the rip, I said, "You know what? Let me get this s*** through", because I'm not ready to go to jail, I ain't trying to do this s*** right now. I got a lot of s*** going. I went into hiding for about a week or two. And then I finally said, "You know what, f*** it." let me go out here and book a ticket.

But the way that happened was... My homeboy that I shall not disclose with his name, but we're just gonna call him Chris. The homeboy Chris just hit me up randomly on Facebook and was like, "Man, what's up, bro? I've been trying to kick it with you. Come through." So I hit him up back. I'm like, "Man, what's up? Where you at?" He tells me Missouri. Mind you, I'm living upstate northeast, and I'm like, "Where the f*** is Missouri at?" I did not know Missouri existed on the states. None of that. It was like, what the f***? So then he told me, he gave me the actual things, and I'm thinking, okay, Missouri, Springfield.

So I'm thinking, alright, I heard of Springfield, but mind you, I didn't know at the time there was other Springfields. So I'm thinking it's like the Simpsons. So I'm like, "Man f*** it." I booked a ticket online and went to the Greyhound. Ended up in Springfield. Took a twenty-six hour drive to the Greyhound and s***, and ended up in Springfield with my homeboy, Chris.

Yeah, so Chris, why was he in Springfield? I believe... I don't know for real, what's the real reason. But his girlfriend, I guess, she was from here at the time. He met her up in New York and somehow they ended up down here. So you meet Chris and you get a job and start working here. Are you just hanging out with him? What are you doing? My background is, you know, Mexican. I've done the nine to five jobs. I've done the warehouse work and construction, floor and tile. That's what Mexicans do. But for me, it was never set in my mind that I needed a nine to five. I just couldn't do it. So at first, I was doing, you know, typical Mexican s***. You know what I mean? Working.

So I became a tattoo artist at 15, 16. I'm thinking I'm the s***. Let's just keep it all the way real. I'm pretty popular in high school. I found that in high school, one of my homeboys told me, "Hey, look, you got a sense of drawing... You try to tap me." And he's saying, "Just order a machine online. I'll pay for it." And he set me up. Yeah. Long story short, I ended up developing my career as a tattoo artist and that's what I was doing out here. I was also doing other illicit things that I don't feel too comfortable speaking about, but if you think along the line, I probably done did it.

So Luis' next chapter took him to Springfield. As we learned, the move was a shot in the dark. He was evading some messy legal troubles back home, looking for a place to camp out for a while, and picked Springfield on a whim. All he knew about the place was that a friend lived there. One long Greyhound bus trip later, Luis was in a totally new city. He picked up tattooed artistry in high school and used this craft to make a living. Though he's unwilling to share too much, Luis was also involved in a gang and took part in some illicit activities to make ends meet.

Now, Luis was convicted of allegedly killing three of his roommates. The prosecution's case goes that Luis was kicked out of the home, and this became the motive for the crime. I wanted to hear about how Luis came to meet the three victims in Springfield and get some insight into their residence on East Locust Street.

So you were tattooing for folks around Springfield, making money that way and stuff. What I want to do is I want to say some people's names. I just want to hear what your reaction is when I say those names. Joshua Hampton, Sabrina Starr, and Steven Marler.

Okay, so Joshua Hampton. I'mma keep it real with you. I had no problems with Joshua Hampton. He was a typical white boy. He was cool, you know. And I hung out with him because he was brought around, but he wasn't my first pick to hang out with. But let's keep it real, me and him had some issues, and they developed into some bulls***, and I really didn't care for him afterwards. But I have no animosity towards him. What were the issues? S***, when motherf***ers is chilling, they show you their real true colors. And, to me, he just wasn't who he was portraying. I'll say, when people get to hang out with each other, you start to actually interact, to know a person. And what he was portraying wasn't really who he was. Right. So I'm just gonna say he was more like a wannabe gangster than what he was really doing. I mean... Sure.

So what comes to mind whenever I say Sabrina Starr? Sabrina Starr? Man, where can I start with her, man? I'm gonna keep it real with you. She was just my little ride-or-die chick man. She was with the s***. I got nothing but love for her. It sucks that the s*** went down the way it went down, and I can't really speak too comfortably on it, and all I'mma say is, look, if she was still here, I have nothing but love for her. I can't have no hate for her, none of that, because she was real. Even though a lot of people didn't like her, and a lot of people didn't really care too much for her. When she started hanging around with me, man, I really did take a liking to her, and on top of that... I have lots of love for her. I care about her still. I still think about her to this day. Yeah.

What about Steven Marler? Steven Marler? For real, I don't even know the dude for real. He's just gonna be my landlord's friend. I don't know the dude. I can't say nothing bad about him, and I'm just gonna say that wrong place, wrong time.

Who was your roommate? You lived with all three of them or you lived with one of them at one time? Alright. So basically the only roommate I had was supposed to be Anderson, but other than that, it was my landlord and he lived downstairs. His name's Cody. And for him, that that's just who was supposed to live there. Everybody else just came and went and did their own thing. Just basically it was a party house. We kick it there. We do our thing. And that's all we did. How much did you have to pay to live there? Alright so, initially the agreement was half of the rent, which was 325, and then half on the electricity bill. That's all I had to pay.

So, you weren't roommates with the three victims in this case? No. Actually, Josh was, I believe, homeless, if I'm not mistaken. Sabrina had her own house or apartment, or whatever it was. And Marler, like I said, he was my landlord's friend, and I don't know... I don't really know too much about him.

So who kicked you out? That was my landlord. What did he kick you out for? The story is that there was a pistol whipping that occurred, and he didn't basically see it or anything like that. All he saw was just blood. Basically, all that transpired was he saw the blood and he kicked everybody out. What was the blood from? Allegedly it was from Mr. Hampton. What happened? Just a discussion. He started bleeding. A discussion and he started bleeding?

Yeah. Who made him bleed? I do not feel comfortable disclosing that. Okay. Was he injured with a weapon? According to the police file, they said that he had got hit with a handgun. So that's what the police file says. Where were you at the time of this happening? I was at the house. Did you see it happen? Yes, I did see this happen. Did Joshua see it coming? Was there an argument first? I don't know if he saw it coming, for real. I can't tell you, because, at this time, everybody in the house was just pretty much... We were partying, man. I'll keep it all the way hundred. Like, he was off of ice. I was off of Xans, and weed, liquor. It was just... it was too much drugs in that house for real.

You were high on Xanax and Joshua was high on m***? High on m***, he***n, whatever. His drug of choice was he***n. So I mean, you can never really tell what he was on. So he was beaten with a pistol and you watched that? I saw it occur. Did you think about stopping him? For real, I'm gonna be real honest with you. He was the one that started the altercation. He was definitely the one that was pushing the issue. Enough to where he should be killed? I don't know about being killed. No, I mean, that's a whole different subject. We're talking about what may or may not have happened. Yeah. We're talking right now about what happened that night where the pistol whipping happened, allegedly. He just bled a little bit, but other than that, he was cool. He didn't have too much of an injury, but he made it seem like he did... like he got cut up and everything. But nah, it was just a little scrape that happened to him.

Life in the East Locust House was chaotic. Officially, only Luis and a man called Aaron Anderson were the fixed tenants there, but the house saw a steady influx of people in and out all the time. It was a party house with ample drug use.

Somewhere in the mix, Luis crossed paths with Sabrina Starr, Joshua Hampton, and briefly, Steven Marler. And though Luis cared for Sabrina, he had mixed feelings about Joshua. In fact, Joshua was at the center of the altercation that led to Luis' eviction. After being beaten with a handgun, Joshua was left bleeding, prompting the landlord Cody to kick both Luis and Anderson out of the house.

Was this a motive for the next day's violence? What we know is that the next evening, on Halloween, four people were shot at the house. Joshua and Steven died, and two others were rushed to the hospital with serious injuries. Days later, Sabrina Starr was also found dead, shot in the doorway of her bedroom.

Police quickly identified Luis and Anderson as possible suspects. In an interview with police, Anderson admitted he and Luis were responsible, but that Luis had wielded the gun. After the break, we hear Luis' perspective of what happened that night.

So how long after that did he end up being killed? I believe the pistol whipping happened on the 30th and I believe he passed away on the 31st. The next day or the next month or? Okay, so according to all the paperwork and everything, the shooting happened right at midnight on the 31st going into the 1st. Was Joshua, Sabrina and Stephen all killed at the same place, same time? No that was at different times. Josh was first? Okay, so Josh was first. There's two murder victims and two first-degree assaults that happened on the 31st. That's clear cut. That happened for sure. Now I do not know who got shot first or who did this or none of that. I can't tell you how that happened. But what I can tell you was the first scene included Josh Hampton, Steven Marler, Jamar Smith, and Cody Phillips, and that was the night of Halloween, at around about midnight. Gotcha.

Luis, you're accused of killing all three of these people, and you've went to court and pled not guilty. You still claim that you're not guilty. Why is the finger pointed at you? Listen, the finger was pointed at me off the rip because... I knew personally that once this s*** happened, it was all gonna come down on me. It didn't matter what the facts were or what the circumstances were. I just looked at it like, "Damn, he's a Mexican, he's illegal, and he's an active gang member." I got a whole bunch of things going against me already off the top.

Where were you whenever the shooting happened? Man, believe me or not, I really don't care, but these are straight facts. What I'm telling you is literally in my case file, and I don't know for what reason... I believe I should have been let out and exonerated of these charges. But believe it or not, my lawyers figured it out that where I was exactly, and to be honest with you, I was at Merseyside Bear Village that night. I just got dropped off. I was literally going to go see another girl after I just got picked up from seeing another girl. There's records on Facebook saying that I was with a girl. Literally, there was messages between Joshua Hampton and Sabrina Starr talking about where I was on that night.

Where did the murder occur? The murder occurred on the East Locust residence. Is there a timeframe that you could actually show yourself at when this murder occurred? Because I am from Springfield, so it takes about 15 minutes to get from one end to the other, if that. So even though you may have an alibi somewhere, I'm just trying to figure out how they would accuse you of it. Was the alibi solid enough to put you there at that very time that the murder occurred, or was it a loose schedule? Oh, nah, it's definitely something that was definitely talked about throughout my whole trial.

So during this trial, there was multiple times where Sabrina and Anderson were seen together. Okay, so during these times, there was a time of... I don't know, about 45, maybe 11:50? Literally, a couple minutes right before the alleged shooting happened, you know, the alleged time when it happened. And there was a person, I can't remember his name, but there was some dude, I don't know off the top of my head, but he literally went to court, stood on that stand, and said he never saw me there. The only people he saw was Sabrina Starr. There is a clear video of Ms. Starr at a Walmart, going inside this Walmart by herself, and coming out within two minutes. Now, mind you, Sabrina doesn't go nowhere by herself, unless she's really by herself. And this is probably five minutes before the shooting even happened. So did Sabrina get shot...? But the only person that was not seen at this site was me. They clearly identified my co-defendant and Sabrina Starr. The only person that was never identified there was me.

We have a witness slash victim, Mr. Cody Phillips. He got on this stand and said to the judge, to everybody in the courtroom, nine different times, he never saw me that night. The only person he identified was my co-defendant with the gun and the same person who shot him.

Who do you think killed them? It's clear-cut who killed them, but it's not on me to tell you who killed them. If you read these files, and you read the court transcripts, you'll know who really did what. Because all they ever had me on this trial was going with them to go buy bullets and being friends with them. That's the only thing they got on me. What were they buying the bullets for? I can't really go into that because I don't feel comfortable disclosing it, but what I can tell you is them bullets were never supposed to be used for that crime to be committed.

Did you play any role in their death? Did you know about it or anything? Listen, the only thing I'm guilty of is not snitching, homie, and I'mma keep it real with you. I still won't snitch if they put me back on that motherf***er and tell me that you can go home if you tell the truth. I ain't gonna do that. I ain't never was bred for that. I will never point the finger at somebody, even though I know better, and I know I should do it. You know how many times I done thought about it, sat in my cell. How many homeboys have told me, "Man, f*** that dude", or "F*** him", or "Do this, do that". I don't know him, you know what I'm saying? I... There's been multiple times motherf***ers done told me this, but I won't get on that stand, homeboy.

Yeah, but you actually watched him get killed though? No, I was not there. I done told you this. I was on the opposite side, over there where the college campus is at. I was over there at North Bear Village where the college kids stay at and I was literally... Keep it all the way hundred, I was f***ing a b**** on that night. Whenever I got done, I got picked up and went to another b****'s house.

That night three lives were claimed. Luis insists that he was far away from the crime scene meeting someone on the North Side Bear Village that night. Police pinned Luis to the crime based on an array of evidence. Witnesses say Sabrina traded Luis the gun that was used to kill. Luis also bought the bullets for that gun.

An ex-girlfriend of his later admitted to burning bloodied clothes. But probably the most damning of all was Aaron Anderson's confession to the police that Luis was to blame. Yet Luis clings to an alibi he says is solid, supported by witnesses who attest that he was absent that night. He contends that other evidence exonerates him and that it is Mexican heritage and gang affiliation that have twisted the narrative. Still, Luis stands by his conviction that he will not snitch on the true killer.

In 2022, Luis was ultimately found guilty by bench trial. The news report you'll hear next touches on Luis' guilty verdict and the reaction from the victims' family.

I don't care who killed my son. Whoever killed my son needs to pay the price.

So now he's going to. Tonight families are celebrating justice after a jury found a Springfield man guilty of a triple homicide. In 2018, Luis Perez shot and killed his two ex-roommates and the woman who gave him the gun.

KOLR10's Sydney Moran is live outside the courthouse tonight after speaking to one of the victim's family members. Sydney? Steve, family and friends of the victims have been waiting for a judge to give that guilty verdict and when the judge did that today, the courtroom was not only filled with sighs of relief, but also tears. Today has been the roughest day in four years. Friends of Aaron Joshua Hampton, Stephen Marler, and Sabrina Starr filled the courtroom Wednesday. It wasn't just a drug deal gone bad and somebody shot somebody. There are hundreds of people involved. The death of Stephen Marler, the court finds him guilty. We fought and we scrapped and we stayed with it. Causing the death of Aaron Hampton, by shooting him, the court finds him guilty.

You know, I've been waiting four years, pretty much, for this verdict. Zach Hampton says he was close with his brother, who went by Joshua. Joshua was one of Perez's ex-roommates. We grew up together, just playing in the backyard, you know. The guilty verdict doesn't come as a shock to Zach, but Zach says he still needed to hear it. I know he's looking over my family and my three kids. He missed out on two of them, so I'm just glad I got justice. Another mother will never live the life I've lived the last four years. For Hampton's mother, Wednesday was a celebration. But today, we're the victors, and our children are the heroes. Because of our children, this man will never kill another person. So all three of our children die heroes. Hampton's family says the verdict is the first step towards closure. The sentencing will be the key lock in the door and walking away, because then we can say, "We know where he's at, we know where he's gonna be." Life moves on. The sentencing date for Perez is scheduled for January 6th of 2023.

So not only does the courts, you know, obviously think you're guilty because of where you're at, but the victims' family also thinks you're guilty. How does that make you feel? Listen, I really can't feel no type of way for them. Because if I was in their shoes, I would want to believe that justice has been served and I believe that they did the right thing. That's what I would want to believe. I wouldn't want to hear it in another way. I don't care if you did or didn't do it. If you was alleged to be the person who did it, I hope you go down.

I don't hold nothing against them for thinking that way, but I do want them to know that they sat in this courtroom, they went through the whole court process, saw me many times, and they knew at the end of that trial, I was never there. The only reason why I got found guilty, and this is in my belief, was because I believe that judge had it in his mind preset off the top that he was going to be the one to find me guilty. It didn't matter what the facts were. It didn't matter what the science proved. It didn't matter about technology. You're Mexican, you're a gang member, you are an illegal immigrant. That's all he had in mind.

Did you have a bench trial or jury trial? That is another reason why I also believe that he got away with what he did. Because I really feel that the judge played a big part on this. I had a bench trial. I believed in my evidence exonerating me. I believed truly that it was going to clear my name and be how it was. But apparently, that didn't matter to that judge. Yeah, I had a bench trial. I feel that things would have been different if I woulda had a jury trial.

You had the opportunity to choose either a bench trial or a jury trial. What made you choose a bench trial? Okay so for me, the decision had to be made when they told me that I had two options. They told me that either I take a bench trial and drop all my ACAs and drop my witness tampering or... Nah, I don't think it was witness tampering. I think it was tampering with evidence. My bad. You drop that and the death penalty. They would drop all that and give me a bench trial and a change of venue. I had to drop that as well.

I found that hard telling my mom, "Look, Mom. They plan on killing me. They really... They're gon'... Putting me to sleep." And that was a hard conversation I had with my mother. In her mind, she just couldn't hear that. Were you in jail whenever you told her that? Yeah. I literally sat on visit, broke it down to her, and told her, "Look Mom, the state's trying to kill me for something I did not do." What did she say to you? She said, "Have faith in God. God's gonna be the one that'll show these people that you didn't do this." She told me herself she didn't believe I did this.

Why did you get accused of tampering with evidence? Did you tamper with evidence? No. That is just part of... what this female that was involved in my case... And she was high on Xanax, and she basically was on some bulls*** and said some dumb ass s***. Got herself involved in the case. She didn't even have nothing to do with it, but I don't know what the f*** happened. She was just on all the bulls***. And she told them the story, and that's what stuck.

So Joshua's father addressed the courtroom and he said the following, and I wanted to know what your reaction was when he said it. He said that he hoped you would seek forgiveness from God. Do you remember him saying that? I believe he said that, and I believe also Starr's mom said the same thing. Did you look at 'em when they said that? Yep, I saw their faces when they told me this.

What was your expression to theirs? Was it sorrow or what was it? This is during the sentencing phase, right? Yeah. When they said this? So by that time, my mind was everywhere but the courtroom. Like I was physically there, but I was not mentally there. So I heard what they told and said. And for real, I appreciate that they said that, but at the same time, I really didn't care too much for what they said, and that's during the time. Although, now that I'm looking back on it, I do appreciate what they did, and the words that they had for me. But at the end of the day though, the whole situation happened because I believed that God was gonna be the one that was gonna lead me out them gates.

At the end of the drawn-out four-year trial, the judge found Luis guilty of three counts of first-degree murder and two of assault.

Pleading innocent, Luis has maintained that the judge in his case, Judge Mountjoy, passed a biased verdict. For a number of reasons, Luis opted for a bench trial, in which the judge alone makes the final call. This type of trial puts the onus entirely on the shoulders of one man. Luis contends that Judge Mountjoy carelessly overlooked the hard evidence of the case, preferring to stereotype Luis as a dangerous, illegal immigrant. Prejudice clouded his judgment, Luis claims, resulting in five life sentences, a hard pill to swallow at 27. It should be noted that Luis' co-defendant, Aaron Anderson, received two life sentences in 2023 as well.

In spite of everything, Luis expresses empathy for the victims' family. In their shoes, he says, he would want justice served just as badly. As I brought up with Luis, the families have been very vocal throughout the whole of this trial, something we'll discuss more after the break.

Are you glad that you didn't get the death penalty? For real, the death penalty didn't really... it didn't matter to me. It was all or nothing for me from the very beginning. So let's keep it real with you, right now, what I got is the death penalty. I'm gonna die in prison, currently standing. But for real, I would have preferred the death penalty because at least I know when I'm over with it and when I'm done doing this. Although it might take 10 years, 10, 15 years to go through the death penalty, I could do that. But doing, sitting in jail, and sitting in county, then sitting in prison, and then sitting here with the uncertainty of what's coming up next, what's waiting to be right around the corner, I don't like that, sir.

What was your reaction in the court when Judge Mountjoy read out the sentencing to you? What did you do? What did you say? When he read out the sentencing, I just was in total disbelief. Literally total disbelief. It literally took me out of my mindset that I went in with and just broke me. Was your mom there? No, my mom was not there. Did you have any support there? Yeah, I had one of the homeboys there that was from Springfield and my sister was there for at least three or four of the days of the trial and then she went back to work. But she was there for me.

So you and I both know that appeals are very unsuccessful the majority of the time. How do you resolve yourself knowing that more than likely you'll die in prison? I do not believe that I'm going to die in prison. I believe that I will be exonerated at some point in time. And I feel, at least in my mind, that I gotta go through these circumstances and I gotta go through this struggle because I'm being tested. I'm being tested in my faith. Because I do got faith. Don't get me wrong. I do believe in the Lord Savior, Jesus Christ. I believe in all that. You know what I mean? Don't, don't get it wrong. I truly do believe in that.

It's just a simple fact that these trials and tribulations are testing me and seeing what I'm about. I gotta go through this so I can become a better person on the other side. I believe that I am going to become a better person on the other side because, let's keep it real with you, I came in a drug addict. I came in on a lot of bulls***. And what I can say right now is I'm clean. 100 percent no drugs. I've been, you know, taking this time to become a better man, connect with my family, connect with my kids, because that's my main goal, give back to my children. And I got a goal, and my goal is to go through this, learn from it, and become a man. Because when I came in here, I was still a kid, and now I can say that I have grown up in here. Many people who knew me when I first got locked up, and see me now. They tell me straight up, "You've changed. You're not the same person."

What's it like in prison for you? For real? Prison ain't that bad right here. I'm supposed to be in one of the bloodiest camps. I'm in Lincoln, Missouri, and I don't know if you know off the top of your head, but I know that s*** goes down every day. Motherf***ers get caught up in bulls***. Motherf***ers be getting stabbed up, they call it stickin lickin. I mean...

I actually do know. I've talked to quite a few people, and some of the people in my episodes have actually talked about it, so... What I also know is Missouri prisons don't have a lot of Mexicans, so where are you at on that? Oh, s***, right now? I'm with all the homies right now. Yeah, we're in here. We're chillin'. So do you admit that you're... You said on the outside you were in a gang, right? Yeah. So most people that associate gangs, they associate gangs with illegal activity and in a lot of cases, murder.

So, if you're admitting that you're in a gang, why would it be hard to believe that you wouldn't have killed somebody? Oh, wow, s***. If you knew me from the streets... And you knew who the f*** I was when I was in the street, yeah, I was definitely a hated person. But I wasn't hated for the simple fact that I was all in super gang activity. It wasn't even because of that. I was a money maker. I was one of the golden boys. A lot of people didn't like me because I stuck to my goals. You know what I mean? I made money. And let's keep it real, I f***ed a lot of n****s' b****es. A lot of motherf***ers don't like me because I f***ed their b****. But that comes with the territory. Are you still in the gang? Yeah, I'm currently still gangbanged. What's the name of the gang you're in? Is it a prison gang or a street gang? Nah, I'm a Surreño 13. But street gang Pee Wees.

Although Luis escaped the death penalty, life in prison, he says, is almost worse. Yet I was struck by his strong sense of hope in the face of uncertainty. Luis plans to appeal his case, which he firmly believes will clear his name of this crime.

On top of this, he sees his arrest as a catalyst for personal growth. It's renewed his faith and strengthened his resolve to emerge from this test as a better man. In prison, Luis has kept his gang affiliation, something that might have marked him as a likely killer early on.

However, it wasn't just his gang ties that made him the target of stereotypes. News about his immigration status made headlines shortly after his 2018 arrest. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE, issued a statement about the case.

It stated that Luis had been held in a New Jersey prison for multiple felonies in 2017. At the time, ICE requested he be deported to Mexico but the request was ignored and he walked free. ICE now asserts that these murders might have been prevented if the deportation had been carried out. Regrettably, this has attracted the attention of online vitriol that villainizes illegal immigrants. One of the victims' mothers has become an ardent advocate for action against undocumented immigrants.

Luis, there's a lot of stuff on the news about your case and about illegal immigration and that you should have been deported, and how does that make you feel? Man, I wish I would've got deported, 'cause for real, I wouldn't be going through all this bulls***. That s*** right there, I really wish I would've got deported. Cause I'll keep it real with you, it'd have been more likely, I would've came right back. And then we would've avoided all this extra bulls***, being in Missouri, f***ing being out of state, being away from my family, being away from my kids. All that would have been avoided if I would have got deported.

But like I said, man, it just wasn't in God's plans. And God be doing all types of things without telling you, without no warning, because it's already planned for him. So, I believe there's a reason why I'm in prison. I also believe that I have impacted many people through prison. I'm not gonna say that I'm a goodie and, you know, I'm some type of guy or some type of, you know, big brother. But I have impacted many people through prison, talked to them, kept it real with them. told them how it was, opened their eyes. There's been many times I done told people that if you're not in a gang, you don't come from this lifestyle, and you don't want no trouble coming to your door, just it's easier to keep it real and be yourself.

Don't try and be somebody you ain't because that s***'s gonna get tested real fast. Somebody ain't gonna like you for what you're portraying and it's always easier to be yourself.

So when is your next appeal? Is it 29 15? What's going on? Alright, so I'm already in appeals right now. Right now, as we speak, I have a lawyer that already put in my direct appeal, seeing what the judge did on me and all that. And if that fails, then I gotta go through the form 40, which is the Ineffective Assistance Council, and then you basically claim everything under the kitchen sink on how your lawyer f***ed up. What they did and did not do.

And like I was saying earlier, because you're in prison, you hear people's stories that those are far and few between successful. Believe it or not, there has been more people who have got time back on their case or gotten completely exonerated than are walking in this camp. I have personally talked to many people. I'm sure there's people that... but everybody files appeals. Everybody does. Yeah, there are people, but what I'm saying is it's a very low percentage of people. It just depends on how much hope you got. I got a lot. I still haven't lost my hope.

And one thing I've noticed is a very big trend is people that have been down for 40, 50 years, and they've exhausted all their appeals, they still have hope that they're gonna get out. It's almost commendable how people in these situations can say, "You know what, I've got hope something's gonna change."

Nah, listen, for me, I really do got hope. I got some time coming back. Look, I'm gonna keep it real with you, man. I may not be guilty for this crime. That's a fact. But I know I done some dirt that I have to pay for and motherf***ing do the time for that I didn't get in trouble for.

As we end this, if the victims' family were to hear this podcast, was there anything you'd want to say to them? The only thing I would want to say to them is listen, I understand what y'all going through. I done lost multiple people in my life. I done lost trusted... I lost homeboys, to all types of people. I know how y'all feel. But I also want them to know that they might want to look a little deeper and put some of that hate they got towards me, put that away for a second, and actually go to the facts. Because I know once, once you got something set in mind, you get blindsided. But I do wish them to at some point realize that I was not the one who did this to their people.

I hope that maybe if you decide someday that you want to give up who killed these people that would definitely help out. I feel like that's not going to happen, but I feel like it should be said, but I appreciate you letting me talk with you and hope the best for you. The best is the best, and the best is for me to come out. All right man, take it easy. All right.

On the next episode of Voices of a Killer. Co-defendant Jerry Broyles is already serving two life terms after a guilty plea. If they ain't gonna let me out, I'd rather have the death penalty. Your brother actually ran over one of the guys with his vehicle? He hit one of them, yes. You did what my brother said, because he was a big boy and he didn't take no lip from me.

How do you know them? I really didn't know them. Did you feel like there was a crazy rage inside of you? Yes. I was in another place. I wasn't in the right frame of mind. I can't believe that any of this happened. I didn't mean for any of this to happen.

That's a wrap on this episode of Voices of a Killer. I want to thank Luis for sharing your story with us today. His ability to be open and honest is what makes this podcast so special. If you would like to listen to the raw recordings of these interviews, you can visit https://www.patreon.com/VoicesofaKiller. By becoming a patron,

you can access not only this, but hours of bonus recordings, correspondence, and you can contribute to the way the show is produced. A big shout out to Sonic Futures who handle the production, audio editing, music licensing, and promotion of this podcast. If you want to hear more episodes like this one, make sure to visit our website at https://www.voicesofakiller.com/. There you can find previous episodes, transcripts, and additional information about the podcast. Lastly, if you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving us a review on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Your feedback helps us improve and reach new listeners. Thank you for your support, and we can't wait to share more stories with you in the future.

Thank you for tuning in. I'm your host, Toby, and we'll see you next time on Voices of a Killer.