SPOKANE, Wash. — A 70-year-old man was sentenced to over 31 years after he murdered a man in 2022.
Duarte A. Cordero shot and killed Joey V. Cortez in Aug. 2022 in Spokane’s West Central neighborhood. Police responded to the area of 1309 W. Shannon Avenue, where they found Cortez with a gunshot wound.
He was transported to the hospital, where he died shortly after the shooting.
According to our partners at The Spokesman-Review, Cordero shot Cortez because he wanted to date his girlfriend. Cordero showed up at their home earlier that day looking for Cortez’s girlfriend, saying he wanted to date her, then slapping her in the face.
Cordero came back to the house later that evening when he shot Cortez.
In May, a Jury found Cordero guilty of second-degree murder. According to The Spokesman-Review, Cordero denied knowing Cortez, having a gun or being involved in the shooting.
On June 28, Cordero was sentenced to 31 years and four months in prison.
This is not Cordero’s first time being sentenced to 31 years in prison for murder. Cordero was convicted in Pierce County in 1990 for killing Primitivo Rodrigues and attempting to kill Floyd Smith Jr.
