A Chicago-area man who has admitted being paid to come to Bartholomew County to physically harm a Columbus resident is expected to receive a 17-and-a-half year prison sentence as part of a plea bargain in a murder case.
Eliel Avelar, 31, whose address is listed in a Chicago, Illinois suburb, has agreed to plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter as a Level 2 felony, court documents states.
In the plea bargain agreement with the Bartholomew County Prosecutor’s office, Avelar admits shooting and killing 37-year-old Leobardo Rodriguez Flores on Feb. 26 in the parking lot of Flores’ employer, Tool Dynamics, located on South Marr Road.
Sentencing for Avelar is scheduled at 3 p.m. Feb. 24 before Bartholomew Superior Court 1 Judge James Worton.
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Initially charged with murder, additional charges were filed against Avelar in August that would likely have kept him in prison for the rest of his life. Besides the murder charge, Avelar was also charged with armed robbery as a Level 3 felony; auto theft as a Level 6 felony; three separate counts of obstruction of justice as Level 6 felonies; intimidation as a Level 6 felony and unlawful possession of a firearm by an alien, which is a Level 4 felony.
According to the plea agreement signed this month by Bartholomew County Prosecutor Bill Nash and defense attorney Aaron Edwards, the state agreed to dismiss all remaining counts during the sentencing, and give a 17½ year sentence without any reduction in time served.
A key part of the agreement for the prosecution is that it requires Avelar to testify against his three co-defendants: Abraham Jimenez Cesareo, Eladia Jacobo Ortiz and Esam Mohammed Abujoudeh.
Scheduling dates show Avelar won’t be sentenced until the cases of his co-defendants are closed. If Avelar does not testify or commits perjury, Worton can reject the plea agreement and order Avelar tried on all eight felony charges.
The case began last December when Cesareo’s ex-girlfriend told police she had been battered, strangled, intimidated and confined by Cesareo.
She gave officers multiple phone recordings where Cesareo could be heard offering a man $2,000 to break Flores’ bones, because he was jealous that Flores was dating his ex-girlfriend, according to a probable cause affidavit. At that time, the man refused Cesareo’s offer, the affidavit stated.
After the killing, investigators interviewed another woman, identified as Eladia Jacobo Ortiz, who said she introduced Cesareo to Avelar on Feb. 10. After receiving money from Cesareo, Alevar agreed to hurt Flores, the probable cause affidavit states.
On Feb. 26, Ortiz and Cesareo met with Avelar at a State Street convenience store. The three got into a car driven by a man later identified as Abujouedh, court documents state.
Cesareo told investigators that after making a few stops that included dropping off Ortiz, the three men went to Tool Dynamics, where they waited for Flores in the parking lot. Avelar approached the victim with a .45 caliber handgun as Flores was getting out of his car, and asked him if he knew two children that Avelar claims to have fathered. Avelar said that after hearing Flores respond with “Sorry, sorry, sorry,” he shot the victim as he bent down, the affidavit states.
Avelar then jumped into Flores’ car and drove it off because he wanted the killing to seem like a robbery, police said.
During a later phone conversation, Avelar demanded another $2,000 from Ortiz and $7,000 from Cesareo, the affidavit states.
A search warrant revealed Ortiz later received threatening phone and text messages from Avelar demanding more money, the court document states.
During her interview, Ortiz identified Avelar as the person who was hired to hurt Flores, and Cesareo also identified Avelar as the man that he paid $2,000, the affidavit states.
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As a part of a plea bargain with Eliel Avelar, the Chicago-area man has agreed to testify for the prosecution in the upcoming trials of three co-defendants.
All defendants are having their cases heard by Bartholomew Superior Court 1 Judge James Worton.
Abraham Jimenez Cesareo, 36, of 2207 7th St., Columbus, is charged with aiding, inducing or causing murder, punishable by 45 to 65 years in prison, as well as a $10,000 fine. He’s also charged with battery as a B misdemeanor. A change of plea hearing is scheduled for Jan. 25 at 10 a.m., a pre-trial conference on Feb. 8 at 11 a.m., and a tentative jury trial for Feb. 23 at 8:30 a.m.
Eladia Jacobo Ortiz, 34, of 895 S. National Road, Columbus, is charged with aiding, inducing, or causing a murder, punishable by 45 to 65 years in prison, as well as a $10,000 fine. A change of plea hearing is scheduled for Jan. 25 at 10 a.m. in Bartholomew Superior Court 1, while a pre-trial conference is set for Feb. 8 at 11 a.m. The tentative trial date is Feb 23 at 8:30 a.m.
Esam Mohammed Abujoudeh, 23, of Oak Forest, Illinois, is charged with aiding, inducing or causing battery, resulting in serious bodily injury as a Level 5 felony, as well as obstruction of justice as a Level 6 felony. If found guilty, he could receive up to an 8½ year prison term, as well as $20,000 in fines. A change of plea hearing is scheduled for Jan. 25 at 9 a.m. in Bartholomew Superior Court 1, while a pre-trial conference is set for Feb. 1 at 11 a.m. His tentative trial date is Feb 16 at 8:30 a.m.
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