Gangsters Sentenced to Decades Behind Bars for 2009 Homicide

Three Watsonville gang members will spend most, if not all, of their lives behind bars for their roles in the 2009 stabbing death, the Santa Cruz County District Attorney's Office reported.

Jose Velasquez, Alejandro Chavez, and Cristobal Ramirez were sentenced to prison Monday for their involvement in the killing of Oscar Sanchez on Jan. 6, 2009.

The trio pleaded guilty to the charges in May, at which time the likely prison terms for each man were announced. Judge Timothy Volkmann sentenced them Monday. 

Sanchez was stabbed 80 times, many of the wounds fatal. The bloodied body of the 35-year-old Mexican national was left next to a berry field off Calton Road in the Pajaro Valley. 

Velasquez, 30, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Authorities have described him as a "Watsonville gang leader;" he pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and participating in a criminal street gang. 

Chavez, 26, was sentenced to 60 years in state prison and will be required to serve 85 percent of his sentence. He pleaded to 17 different felonies including: manslaughter, kidnapping, robbery, criminal threats and participating in a criminal street gang. 

Ramirez, 24, was sentenced to 35 years in state prison and will be required to serve 85 percent of his sentence. He pleaded to seven different felonies including: manslaughter, kidnapping, criminal threats, destruction of evidence and participating in a criminal street gang.

Members of Sanchez's family attended the hearing and "expressed their satisfaction with the sentences," the D.A.'s Office reported.