A San Luis Obispo County Superior Court judge ruled Thursday there is enough probable cause for a Paso Robles murder case to go to trial.
David Rodriguez Hernandez, 43, is charged with murder, conspiracy to commit kidnapping, robbery, and assault with a deadly weapon for the 2013 murder of Victor Hugo Sanchez, 37.
Investigators believe the victim’s ex-girlfriend, Maria del Carmen Granados Fajardo, paid Hernandez and three other men to attack Sanchez.
In October 2012, Sanchez was reportedly assaulted with a tire iron, leaving him with several broken bones. Then on Feb. 23, 2013, he was reportedly shot to death in the parking lot of a Paso Robles apartment building.
Fajardo was convicted of robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, and second-degree murder in 2014 and sentenced to 21 years to life in prison.
After six years on the run, Hernandez was caught and extradited from Mexico to San Luis Obispo County where he was booked into jail on Jan. 30, 2019.
This week, a preliminary hearing was held for Hernandez and after three days of testimony, a judge ruled there is enough probable cause to believe that Hernandez committed the crimes.
Hernandez is scheduled to return to court on July 31, 2019, for arraignment.
The three other men accused of being involved in the murder have not yet been found.
