Soberanis given 18 years for Manslaughter

Eight days ago, he pled guilty to killing an elderly man and today Darwin Soberanis learnt his fate. In handing down sentence, Justice Troadio Gonzalez acknowledged that the accused had not burdened the court with a lengthy murder trial, but emphasized that the crime of manslaughter carries a sentence of life behind bars. Gonzalez then ordered that Soberanis spend the next eighteen years in prison. In October 2004, the twenty-eight year old was arrested and initially charged with the murder of fifty-one year old San Ignacio resident Gabriel Pinelo. The victim’s body was discovered by police after family members came home and found the door to the house wide open. He had been brutally bludgeoned to death. Soberanis was represented by Simeon Sampson while Blanca Tate prosecuted.