Man Accused in the Death of Woman Found in Trash Can Sentenced to 15 Years to Life

The man arrested in connection with the death of a woman whose body was found stuffed in a trash can dumped in Pleasanton, was sentenced today to 15 years to life in prison in San Joaquin County. The woman, who was later identifed as Stockton resident, 25-year-old Ana Flores-Pineda, was found dead in Pleasanton in May of 2012. 

Javier Sandoval, 35, pled guilty to second-degree murder of Flores-Pineda.
The San Joaquin Country District's Attorney's Office posted an update about the sentencing on their Facebook page:

San Joaquin County District Attorney 2 hours ago
People v Javier Sandoval: Javier Sandoval, 35, was sentenced on June 12, 2013 (Dept 35 at 10:30 am) for the killing of Ana Flores-Pineda, 25. Sandoval plead guilty on May 14 to second degree murder. He was sentenced 15 years to Life.

Flores-Pineda’s body was found on a Pleasanton roadside stuffed in a trash can on May 24th, 2012. Her identity and the circumstances of her death were a mystery for months until Stockton Polic...e made the connection between the body and a missing person’s report made by her friends a few weeks after her disappearance on May 2nd. Stockton Police initially looked in the Pleasanton area after Sandoval’s cell phone was recorded being used in Pleasanton on the evening of May 3rd.

Stockton and Pleasanton Police departments then worked closely together to narrow the focus on Sandavol.

Flores-Pineda’s body was badly decomposed and her identity had to be confirmed using DNA. Stockton Police made the October 31st arrest of Sandoval because the bulk of evidence indicated that Flores-Pineda was murdered in her Stockton home she shared with Sandavol.

At the sentencing, San Joaquin County Deputy District Attorney Mark Ott filed a statement and included documents of the suspicious death of Sandoval's deceased wife, Jaqueline Estrada. Those records indicated the former wife died of manual strangulation, the same manner in which Flores-Pineda died.