East Bay man convicted in job site killing
A Marin County jury has convicted an East Bay man of murdering his supervisor at a San Rafael job site.
Miguel Jimenez Alejandre, 35, of Bay Point, killed the victim in May 2021, authorities said. The cause of death was a slash wound to the neck, authorities said.
The victim was David Nunez Sanchez, 42, of Pittsburg. Investigators determined the motive was “based on a dispute over a work-related task,” said San Rafael police Sgt. Justin Graham.
Witnesses told investigators that Sanchez, not long before the murder, had planned to reprimand Jimenez for his poor work ethic and for conduct such as smoking near the windows of residences at job sites, according to court filings.
Jimenez faces a state prison sentence of up to 26 years to life, said Deputy District Attorney Daniel Madow, the trial prosecutor.
“Justice was achieved in the horrific, callous and senseless killing of a hard-working, kind-hearted man,” Madow said Wednesday. “Although the verdict will never undo the harm the defendant's actions inflicted on the victim's family, we hope the verdict gives his family and the community a sense of peace knowing that the just verdict was reached.”
A Concord landscaping company called police the day after Nunez Sanchez did not arrive home from work, the San Rafael Police Department said. Police found his truck near the job site along with his cellphone and a lunchbox with uneaten food in it.
Police then found Nunez Sanchez's body buried under brush and branches at the McInnis Park Apartments complex on North Avenue.
Police interviewed three other landscaping workers who had been at the job site that day. After a lengthy interview, Jimenez admitted that he had killed Nunez Sanchez, police said.
Jimenez alleged that Nunez Sanchez was angry with him for forgetting to bring a tarp to an area where they were cutting shrubs, according to a court filing. Jimenez alleged that Nunez Sanchez attacked him with a large pair of scissors, and he defended himself with a small pocket knife, cutting Nunez Sanchez in the neck.
“Mr. Jimenez told the police that he killed Mr. Nunez-Sanchez in self-defense,” said Beth Everhart, a public defender who represented Jimenez. “He testified to the same at trial. Mr. Jimenez maintains that he reacted to a terrifying event that led to this terrible tragedy.”