By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
A 29-year-old man was sentenced Tuesday to 45 years in state prison for the 2019 shooting death of Del Rioan Amanda Riojas.
83rd Judicial District Judge Robert E. Cadena handed down the lengthy prison term for Robert Evans Jr., also of Del Rio, following a hearing during which he heard testimony from Riojas’ mother and Evans, as well as arguments from District Attorney Suzanne West and Evans’ attorney, Sylvia Cavazos of San Antonio.
Tuesday’s sentencing hearing was delayed an hour-and-a-half while Evans was retrieved from the custody of the U.S. Marshal’s Service and transferred to state court.
West initiated the hearing with testimony from Del Rio Police Department Detective Oscar Gonzalez, who investigated the April 27, 2019, shooting of Riojas, a 26-year-old mother of five who had been Evans’ on-again, off-again girlfriend.
West showed Gonzalez a series of photographs, and he testified they depicted Riojas as she appeared shortly after being rushed to the emergency room at Val Verde Regional Medical Center, where she died of the gunshot wound inflicted by Evans.
West’s next witness was Rosemary Gutierrez, Riojas’ mother. Gutierrez arrived in the courtroom just before the hearing was initially scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. Tuesday, along with several of Riojas’ sisters and other family members.
On the stand, Gutierrez told the court she is the primary caregiver for Riojas’ five children. She also testified she had not seen her daughter for about two months prior to her death, since she was also watching Riojas’ children at the time and Child Protective Services was investigating a case on the situation.
Gutierrez said Riojas “started doing drugs” and testified although she and other family members were trying to get her into rehabilitation treatment, but said Riojas was having to wait for a bed at an inpatient facility.
Gutierrez testified Riojas’ children have bad dreams about Evans and that Riojas’ death has affected all of the members of the family.
“What else would you like for the judge to know?” West asked Gutierrez.
Tears streaming down her face, Gutierrez replied, “It doesn’t matter what decision he (the judge) makes. We all got the worst sentence. We got sentenced to life.”
Cavazos had no questions for either of West’s witnesses, and when it was her turn, Cavazos called Evans to the stand.
Evans began weeping almost as soon as he was escorted into the courtroom by sheriff’s deputies and spoke in low tones from the witness stand, often hanging his head.
Through questions by Cavazos, Evans told the court he had had a good childhood until his mother began using drugs, recounting one occasion when he found her “nodding out” in the bathroom after dosing herself.
Evans said he had gone to prison and after he got out, began using meth.
He said in the week prior to Riojas’ murder, he had been using meth, “and it messed my mind up.”
Evans often seemed to have difficulty answering Cavazos’ questions, hanging his head and crying.
Cavazos questioned Evans about the minutes before the shooting, which occurred outside a south Del Rio convenience store. A friend of Evans’ and Riojas’ had driven them to the store. The friend went inside, leaving Riojas in the front passenger seat and Evans in the backseat behind her.
Evans testified the meth had made him paranoid, and he had wanted out of the truck. When he couldn’t open the back door because the truck’s child-safe locks were engaged, he panicked.
“What happened?” Cavazos asked.
After a lengthy pause, Evans replied, “I got scared . . . I grabbed the gun and grabbed her by the shoulder, and the gun went off.”
Evans testified he did not mean to fire the gun.
When Cavazos tried to ask another question, Evans broke down and told the judge, “I can’t do this right now.”
Cadena called a short recess while Evans attempted to regain his composure.
When he returned to the stand, Cavazos asked him, “How do you feel about taking someone’s life?”
“I never thought I would be living in a world where I have to live with that every day . . . There is no way to explain how sorry I am. I can never make amends, but it’s a goal I’ll never stop trying to reach,” Evans said.
Evans testified he has worked on staying drug-free since he was arrested for the murder and said one day he would like to mentor young people as a motivational speaker.
When Cavazos asked if he would like to say anything to Riojas’ family, Evans raised his head, looked out toward the courtroom gallery and said, “I’m just very sorry. By everything I hold valuable in the world, it wasn’t on purpose. There is nothing I can say or do that will explain how sorry I am, and if I could take it back, I would.”
Evans also said he wanted another chance, but “not being able to forgive myself makes it hard to ask for leniency.”
After the witness testimony, West noted the plea agreement she had struck with Evans and his attorney set a 45-year cap on sentencing, and she asked the judge to sentence him to the maximum.
Cavazos asked for leniency, saying that Evans had not intended to kill Riojas and that the shooting was “accident.”
“This is not a cold-blooded killer,” she told the court.
After listening to the witnesses and hearing from both attorneys, Cadena imposed a sentence of 45 years in state prison and ordered the sentence to run consecutively with a 10-year term Evans has been sentenced to in federal prison.
After Cadena imposed his sentence, one of Riojas’ daughters and two of her sisters gave victim impact statements.
Rosemary Garza, one of Riojas’ sisters, sobbed as she shouted at Evans, “She loved you, man . . . I’m so angry . . . I hate you. You took her away from me. I hate you for taking her away from us . . . I hope God forgives you, man, because I don’t.”
Another sister, Sabrina Riojas, carried a poster board covered with photos of Riojas with her children and other family members, to the witness stand and held it while she spoke.
Sabrina Riojas said her sister was “one of a kind,” someone who always saw the good in others.
“I didn’t approve of her seeing you, but she would always defend you . . . I hope God forgives you, but I don’t know how to feel. She would have forgave you . . . She had a heart of gold,” Sabrina said, wiping tears from her eyes.
After the statements, Cadena exhorted those in the courtroom not to lose their way in anger and reminded them they must set good examples for Riojas’ children.
“Give them the best life you can. I have faith that you will. Her goodness resides in them. Bring it up so they can pass it on,” Cadena said.
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