Rodriguez sentenced for 2020 killing of Eric Aguiar
Joshua Amondo Rodriguez, the convicted killer of 17-yearold Eric Aguiar in a shooting in a parking lot adjacent to Sonora High School in September 2020, was sentenced Thursday in Tuolumne County Superior Court to 71 years, eight months plus 50 years to life in prison, with eligibility for parole in 20 years.
Rodriguez, 22, is eligible for parole in 20 years under California Penal Code 3051(b), also known as the youth offender parole law, because he was under age 26 at the time of the offense. A jury found Rodriguez guilty Feb. 9 of first-degree murder and three counts of attempted second-degree murder.
Forty of Aguiar’s family, friends, loved ones, and other supporters, including Aguiar’s best friend, Ira Klein, packed the prosecution side of Presiding Judge Kevin Seibert’s courtroom Thursday afternoon.
Seibert sentenced Rodriguez after hearing eight victim impact statements and reviewing Rodriguez’ probation report. Rodriguez was present in court, wearing a red Tuolumne County Jail outfit, and chains around his ankles clinked when he entered and exited the courtroom.
Aguiar’s older sister, Nichole, read the first victim impact statement.
“It’s harder than I thought,” she said through momentary tears. “Eric is the sibling who first called me a special name, big sister, when I was 7 years old. He never entered or left a room without hugging you. The number one thing he taught me was bravery.”
She recalled seeing her brother dead on a hospital bed. A part of her died that night. She sat with her deceased brother for six hours. She said she watched her parents crumble to pieces.
“I had to tell my children they will never see their Uncle Eric again,” she said. “His nieces had to experience grief at such a young age. I had to drop out of college. I could not concentrate in class, and I have not gone back in the two and a half years since.”
She said she feels retraumatized every time she’s had to return to court to share the same room with her brother’s killer, who showed no remorse in her presence.
“This killer not only killed my
brother,” she said. “He killed a whole family. I recommend you give this killer the maximum sentence.”
Aguiar’s father, Josh Aguiar, went next, and he started by telling Seibert and Rodriguez the killing of his son destroyed his family, destroyed everything, his wife’s future, his future, and it means his grandchildren will never have an uncle. He also spoke directly to Rodriguez, while Assistant District Attorney Eric Hovatter placed a hand on his back for support.
“Why are we here? Because you’re a coward,” Josh Aguiar said. “Couldn’t face a 17-year-old … But that night you destroyed your own family as well. My daughter and my grandkids are going to suffer the worst.”
He said he moved his family to Tuolumne County to get away from guns, gangs, and violence. He said he has a tattoo of his son on his chest. He said Eric was a light in the Sonora community.
The victim’s mother, Autumn Aguiar, spoke next and told Seibert she would never wish the pain she and her family have endured since her son’s murder on anyone. She said no parent should ever have to outlive a child. It’s profoundly unnatural.
“Seeing him bleeding on a hospital bed, I died with him,” Autumn Aguiar said. “There is no longer any joy or light in my life. I went from being a mother and a wife to being alone. This monster appeared from nowhere and killed my child.”
Speaking directly to Rodriguez, she concluded her victim impact statement with the words, “I hope you become somebody’s bitch.”
Rodriguez’ attorney, Clay Bedford, objected to the concluding words of both of Eric Aguiar’s parents. He said the previous two victim impact statements contained inappropriate language and asked Seibert to ensure any further victim impact statements be addressed to the court, not directly to Rodriguez.
Seibert declined, saying, “I’m not going to tell a grieving parent how to speak. That objection is overruled.”
Klein and one of Aguiar’s aunts also read victim impact statements.
“You brought a gun to a fistfight,” Kara Aguiar said to Rodriguez. “Why? You are a coward. The lowest scum in the world. You deserve the death penalty.”
Hovatter read three more victim impact statements from Aguiar’s maternal aunt, his grandparents, the mother of Jacob Nielsen, who along with Klein and a third friend of Aguiar, survived the September 2020 shooting when Aguiar was fatally wounded.
Seibert told Rodrgiuez he had no idea what was going through his mind the day of the shooting.
“How could a laughing emoji start a chain of events that led to this tragedy?” Seibert asked about a social media post that preceded the shooting. “How could something so insignificant and meaningless cause this? What happened to you, Mr. Rodriguez, that would have you shoot an innocent boy in cold blood? I still don’t have an answer to that question.”
Later Thursday, when Seibert concluded his sentencing, some of Aguiar’s supporters applauded and shouted “bye bye” as Rodrgiuez was led from the courtroom, still in chains and red jail togs. Seibert told them no more outbursts would be tolerated.
During a preliminary hearing last April, Rodriguez was accused of bringing a gun to a pre-planned fistfight between high school-aged participants. Evidence presented at the preliminary hearing indicated Aguiar was shot in the passenger seat of his friend’s Toyota pickup less than a minute after they arrived at the parking lot adjacent to Sonora High School.
Aguiar likely died within 10 minutes due to a single gunshot wound that pierced his heart and lungs, according to testimony at the preliminary hearing.
Rodriguez was arrested Sept. 26, 2020, in Centerville, Utah. He was extradited to Tuolumne County, and first appeared in Tuolumne County Superior Court in October 2020. He remained in custody at the county jail Thursday evening while awaiting transfer to a state prison.