COLUMBUS, Ind. — A defendant who admitted being a killer-for-hire has been sentenced to 55 years in prison by Bartholomew Superior Court 1 Judge James Worton.
In a plea bargain, Eliel Avelar, 34, who resides in Chicago, Illinois, pleaded guilty to one count of murder for the death of Leobardo Rodriguez Flores, 37, last month. Tuesday morning, Worton sentenced Avelar to 55 years in prison, saying that anything less would diminish the seriousness of the crime.
Ten other felonies and one misdemeanor charge were dropped in exchange for the plea and a maximum 55-year-cap on the sentence.
Investigators say co-defendant Abraham Jimenez Cesareo, 38, hired Avelar to drive to Columbus to either physically assault or kill Flores. According to a probable cause affidavit, Cesareo was angry the victim was dating Cesareo’s former girlfriend. Witnesses say that while the woman and Cesareo were together for over 11 years, the couple had broken up several weeks before Flores was killed. The victim was shot to death at night in the parking lot of his employer, Tool Dynamics, on Feb. 26, 2020.
Cesareo
In early September, Cesareo received 28 years in prison for robbery resulting in serious bodily injury as a Level 2 felony, and 12 years for aiding, inducing or causing kidnapping while hijacking a vehicle as a Level 3 felony.
A woman who connected Cesareo with Avelar for the attack on Flores, Eladia Jacabo Ortiz, pleaded guilty to aiding, inducing or causing aggravated battery as a Level 3 felony. She is scheduled to be sentenced at 3:30 p.m. on Dec. 6.
The fourth and final defendant, Esam Mohammad Abujouedeh, 26 of Oak Forest, Illinois, served as Avelar’s driver the night of the killing, investigators said. He’s charged with battery resulting in a serious bodily injury as a Level 5 felony.
Esam Mohammed Abujoudeh
A change of plea hearing for Abujouedeh is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Nov. 13, with a pre-trial conference set for Nov. 27 at 11 a.m. His trial is tentatively scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. on Dec. 12.
