After Killing ‘Best Friend,’ Bradenton Man Gets Life In Prison: Police

SARASOTA, FL — A Bradenton man convicted by a jury for fatally shooting a friend in 2019 was sentenced to life in prison.

Juan Esparza received life in prison for charges of first-degree murder and armed burglary of a dwelling, 15 years in prison for a charge of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and five years in prison for a charge of tampering with evidence, according to a news release from State Attorney Ed Brodsky’s office.

On Oct. 18, law enforcement investigated the death of Joel Sanchez, who died at the hands of Esparza, the Sarasota Police Department shared to its Facebook page.

Esparza initially told police that he watched his “best friend” commit suicide while they were video chatting.

Investigators later learned that Esparza was angry with Sanchez for causing his girlfriend to break up with him. They had an ongoing Facebook dispute involving the woman, the state attorney’s office said.

He took a taxi to his friend’s home on 6th Street in Sarasota with a gun, entered the house while the victim wasn’t home and waited for him to return. Before leaving Bradenton, Esparza told his roommate that he was going to Sarasota “to fix the problem,” Brodsky’s office said.

When the victim arrived, Esparza shot him in the head, killing him, before staging the crime scene to look like a suicide, police said. He left the scene and later told friends, family and investigators that he watched Sanchez commit suicide while video chatting.

During the investigation, police learned that Esparza recorded a video of himself taunting Sanchez and holding a gun in the victim’s home. He sent the video to his estranged girlfriend and also sent a selfie of himself on the victim’s couch while holding a gun to a friend in Mexico, the state attorney’s office said.

Video surveillance footage also showed Esparza leaving Sanchez’s home and walking north on U.S. 301.

The murder weapon was later found in a building on his Bradenton property. A DNA analysis found Esparza’s DNA on the gun’s trigger, grip and magazine.

“The family of Joel Sanchez has waited (two-and-a-half) years for justice in this case. The elaborate lies told by the defendant, in which he tried to convince the Sanchez family that Joel committed suicide, made their suffering and grief almost unbearable,” said Karen Fraivillig, assistant state attorney.

The juror’s verdict will ensure that a ruthless and violent man will spend the rest of his life removed from society and held accountable for these vicious crimes.”