Venezuelan man convicted of first-degree murder in New Hanover County
NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — A Venezuelan man has been convicted of the first-degree murder in New Hanover County.
The District Attorney’s Office said a jury in New Hanover County convicted Jose Guillermo Yecerra-Ascanio, 25, on Tuesday.
Yecerra-Ascanio was convicted of first-degree murder, assault with a deadly Weapon with the intent to kill, breaking and
entering with the intent to terrorize, and misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.
Superior Court Judge Tiffany Powers of Robeson County sentenced Yecerra-Ascanio to life in prison without the possibility of parole
in the Department of Adult Correction.
The District Attorney’s Office said on July 28, 2024, Yecerra-Ascanio struck his 16-year-old ex-girlfriend on her side and was subsequently arrested and charged with one count of misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.
Upon his release from custody on July 29, 2024, Yecerra-Ascanio was ordered not to have any contact with that victim or go about her
place of residence.
On August 1, 2024 at around 7:30 a.m., the District Attorney’s Office said the defendant broke into the home and stabbed his ex-girlfriend’s roommate, Melvin Gonalzes-Vellosa, multiple times with a knife, delivering fatal blows to his neck and back.
After the murder, officials said the defendant’s vehicle was located at around 9:30 a.m. at the Crosswinds Apartments on St. Andrews Drive by then Wilmington Police Department Chief Donny Williams.
The District Attorney’s Office said evidence presented at trial came in the form of multiple eyewitness accounts, DNA evidence showing
Gonalzes-Vellosa’s blood in the defendant’s vehicle, admissions made by the defendant in text messages, and surveillance footage that captured Yecerra-Ascanio’s actions before and after the murder.
Assistant District Attorney Brad Matthews said, “We are very happy to be able to get justice for Mr. Gonzales-Vellosa’s family for this senseless and heinous crime.”
“Nobody wins in a case like this. A young man will spend the rest of his life in prison, and another man lost his life to violence,” said District Attorney Jason Smith. “Domestic violence will not be tolerated in this jurisdiction.”
“The prosecution of this case would not have been possible without the swift investigative work of law enforcement and the cooperation of eyewitnesses who immediately came forward with information that led to the defendant’s arrest and their testimony at trial,” Assistant District Attorney Amy White added.
