A Boone County judge sentences an Ashland man convicted of voluntary manslaughter for the stabbing death of a fellow employee from Ashland’s Jose Jalapenos to 50 years in prison.
939 the Eagle News was in Boone County Circuit Court for Tuesday’s emotional sentencing for 22-year-old Robin Morales-Sanchez. He was originally charged with second degree murder for the 2021 stabbing death of 47-year-old Moises Hernandez-Sanchez, who was killed in a yard in Ashland. Testimony indicated the victim was stabbed 22 times. A Boone County jury convicted Morales-Sanchez of voluntary manslaughter and armed criminal action for the death of Hernandez-Sanchez.
Judge Joshua Calvin Devine sentences Morales-Sanchez to 50 years in prison.
Security was tight inside and outside the courtroom on Tuesday, and the court also authorized a Spanish-speaking interpreter for Morales-Sanchez, who wore headphones to hear the interpreter. His defense attorney says there was no intent to kill that day, referring to the incident as a tragic case. Defense attorneys say Morales-Sanchez feels bad for the victim’s family and that he’s also learned limited English in jail and studies the Bible. The defense also says Morales-Sanchez has an active ICE detainer and that he will be deported from the United States, once he serves the prison sentence.
Boone County assistant prosecutor Susan Boresi tells Judge Devine that the stabbing death of Hernandez-Sanchez was an egregious killing. She requested the maximum 50-year sentence, noting Morales-Sanchez stabbed another man that day in a separate incident in Ashland. That victim survived.
Morales-Sanchez cried in the courtroom during the sentencing hearing. Bailiffs also brought several boxes of tissues to family members in the audience who sobbed during the sentencing: it’s unclear which side they were on.
Morales-Sanchez’s attorney plans to file an appeal.
