A Rusk man was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on Friday after being convicted of the 2022 robbery and murder of a 70-year-old man.
According to the Cherokee County District Attorney’s Office, Christopher Anthony Peoples was found guilty of capital murder for the death of Valentine Ortega Sanchez. The crime occurred on April 22, 2022, when Peoples robbed and attacked Sanchez with a knife in his driveway near Martin Luther King Boulevard and Dixon Avenue in Rusk.
Officials stated that Peoples fled from deputies in a vehicle on April 23, 2022, while disposing of evidence. He subsequently crashed his vehicle on FM 241 and was apprehended after receiving hospital treatment for injuries sustained in the wreck. While in custody, Peoples reportedly confessed to the murder.
The DA’s office presented DNA evidence, video footage, and four days of testimony during the trial, highlighting Peoples’ attempts to discard evidence while fleeing. The jury’s verdict of capital murder carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole in Texas.
