Three siblings agreed to plea bargains and were convicted of murdering a Las Vegas man over a $1,000 dispute.
Janet Juarez, Juan Juarez, and Christian Juarez all entered Alford pleas after facing multiple charges in the fatal shooting of Anthony Rivero.
By entering Alford pleas, the siblings acknowledge that there is sufficient evidence to convict them of the charges they face, but they do not admit guilt.
According to prosecutors, Janet and Anthony were the parents of an 8-month-old infant at the time of the murder but had never been a couple.
That child, who is now five years old, has no father, and his mother is about to go to prison.
According to an arrest warrant obtained by PEOPLE, prosecutors used an eyewitness and several text messages as key evidence in their case.
Maria Rivero, the victim’s mother, was among the eyewitnesses. According to the warrant, she witnessed her son being shot dead in front of her home on December 8, 2020, at 2:06 p.m.
Maria told police that she heard an argument in front of the house and went outside to investigate, where she saw “a Hispanic male trying to get into Anthony’s car,” according to the warrant.
She also noticed a woman in the car driven by the Hispanic male, her hair in a bun similar to Janet’s, according to the warrant.
“The male suspect kept trying to get into the vehicle,” the warrant states. “Maria yelled out at the suspect and as he looked up at her Anthony started to drive away but as he did, he was shot.”
According to the warrant, Anthony drove to the end of the road before losing consciousness and crashing the car. At the same time, Maria stated that she witnessed the male and female speed away in a white GMC Yukon Denali, which the warrant notes was the same make and model as a car owned by a woman with ties to Juan.
Prosecutors also had a series of text messages and calls between Janet and Anthony in the days before he was shot dead in which Janet demanded money from her ex and stated that if he could not provide the money, she would have her brothers kill him, according to the warrants.
Those messages continued until only minutes before Anthony’s death.
“I need my money or Ima pull up my bullet,” Janet wrote to Anthony on the morning of the shooting. The warrant states that “Bullet” refers to Janet’s brother. The warrant contains a second text in which Janet writes about “Bullet”: “He hot he wanted to pull up on you last night u lucky he was working.”
An hour before the shooting, Janet texted that she was on her way to Anthony’s house, and seven minutes before, a male left a voicemail for Anthony saying, “I am outside your house, how do you want to handle this?”
In the end, Janet was sentenced to four to ten years in prison for voluntary manslaughter with the use of a deadly weapon, plus an additional four to ten years for the deadly weapons enhancement. Those sentences will be served consecutively, which means she could be released in eight years.
Juan Juarez could also be released from prison in eight years after serving consecutive four- to ten-year sentences for voluntary manslaughter and conspiracy to commit murder.
Christian Juarez was sentenced to ten to twenty-five years in prison for second-degree murder because he fired the fatal shots.
Lawyers representing the siblings did not respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
During the sentencing, the attorneys apologized to the victim’s family.
Maria Rivero responded by asking, “How much does a life cost?” $1,000? I do not accept your apology. I do not take it. My son’s life cost significantly more than $1,000. “Much more.”