Sentencing for Killer who Dumped Victim's Body on Route 133

OSSINING, NY — Joaquin Recinos Garcia of Yonkers was sentenced Thursday to 20 years to life after pleading guilty in November 2015 to one count of Murder in the First Degree, a class “A-1” Felony.

The murder came to light Aug. 24, 2015, when at 6:40 a.m. a jogger running along Route 133 in Ossining found a decomposing body by the side of the road.

An autopsy carried out by the Westchester Medical Examiner’s Office determined that the body was that of Luis Blanco, 62, of Yonkers. Blanco had been stabbed multiple times in the head, neck and torso. He also suffered a bullet wound to the back of his head, said Acting Westchester County District Attorney James A. McCarty.

An intensive investigation was carried out by the Ossining Police Department, the Yonkers Police Department, the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office and the Westchester County Department of Laboratories and Research.

Their investigation revealed that Garcia, 28, owed Blanco money and was scheduled to meet with Blanco Aug. 19 — the day he went missing.

Investigators said Garcia, along with an unindicted co-conspirator, picked up Blanco in Garcia's Ford SUV in Yonkers on Aug. 19. Garcia told Blanco that he could not pay the money he owed him. When Blanco threatened to inform Garcia’s employer, Garcia became angry, brandished a screwdriver and demanded Blanco hand over all his valuables.

Garcia stabbed Blanco over and over. The other man in the back seat of the SUV then shot Blanco once in the back of the head, prosecutors said.

Garcia was arrested by Ossining Village Police on Sept. 18, 2015.

Assistant District Attorneys Lana Hochheiser and Julia Cornachio of the Superior Court Trial Division prosecuted the case.