12/18/2024
JUAN DELGADO SENTENCED TO LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE FOR 2023 LEBANON CITY HOMICIDE
On December 18, 2024, President Judge John C. Tylwalk, sentenced Juan Delgado to life imprisonment without parole for his First-Degree Homicide Conviction. A Lebanon County jury convicted the Defendant in November of 2024 of First-Degree Murder after a four-day trial. District Attorney Pier Hess Graf prosecuted the case for the Commonwealth with assistance from Senior Deputy Amy Muller, Lebanon City Detectives, and the Lebanon County Detective Bureau.
On March 9, 2023, the Defendant retrieved his illegally possessed 9 mm handgun, got into his pick-up truck, and drove to the Northside of Lebanon City. He parked then exited the vehicle. The Defendant grabbed his gun. He walked directly to the victim’s home. The Defendant pulled his handgun and shot the victim, Jean Ortiz Rivera, twice at close range, as the victim sat on own his front porch. The Defendant committed this murder in broad daylight; he committed this killing directly in front of the victim’s wife – a key eyewitness in the trial. The Defendant fled the scene, threw away his clothing, and tried to hide the murder weapon.
The victim’s wife knew the Defendant. She immediately identified him to police and in a photo lineup. She provided video of the murder from her own surveillance cameras. A still utilized during trial – showing how close the Defendant stood to the victim as he callously pulled the trigger – is attached to this Release. Police arrested the Defendant hours later. Police identified the Defendant’s unique tattoo, visible from video of the murder. The truck used to drive the Defendant to and from the scene contained identifiable markings and was owned by – and registered to – the Defendant. The Defendant refused to speak to police. Nearly a month later, a man linked to the Defendant was arrested in possession of the murder weapon. During trial, this man testified he saw the Defendant stash the murder weapon prior to his arrest. This man further testified the Defendant confessed to the killing immediately thereafter.
“The motive for this killing was senseless – the Defendant’s sister and the victim’s wife had an argument. The sister called the Defendant. Less than an hour later, in retaliation, the Defendant shot the victim twice in his neck and chest. The victim’s injuries were so severe and so lethal no medical attention could have saved him. His widow stood over his dying body and watched the victim take his last breath. The verdict and sentence cannot bring the victim back – but they ensure the Defendant will never kill again. The victim’s family will face Christmas and New Years, and every day thereafter, without him. We hope this serves as a lesson to would-be criminals – if you use a weapon, if you extinguish an innocent life, you will die in jail,” said District Attorney Pier Hess Graf.
