The events leading up to Jorge Rodriguez’s terrible death are revealed in the Investigation Discovery programme “See No Evil: A Crash, Not an Accident.”
Detectives used copious CCTV footage and a tip from an anonymous source to quickly apprehend the offender.
The victim’s daughters and the investigators working on the case are included in the episode, which gives a detailed account of the chain of events leading up to the crime.
In Pasco, Franklin County, Washington, 51-year-old Jorge Rodriguez was organising a Fourth of July celebration with his daughter Darlin Molina.
Jorge Molina, a father of three girls named Darlin, Kimberly, and Karen, was well-known for his contagious smile and ardent affection for his loved ones.
Kimberly cried as she recalled how their father always supported them and saw to all of their needs.
Darlin made the decision to forgo watching the fireworks on the Fourth of July in 2017 since she was expecting.
Jorge, who was overjoyed to become a grandfather, walked out to the neighbourhood Fiesta Foods to purchase some groceries. But he never went back home.
What went wrong with him? What is known about the case is as follows.
Everything you should know about Jorge Rodriguez Just before 11:00 PM, Murder Darlin received a troubling call from the Pasco police notifying her that her father had been shot twice.
Darlin arrived at the scene in a panic and saw her father holding his face and motioning for her to be calm before being taken away in an ambulance.
Jorge was initially sent to Providence Sacred Heart Medical Centre in Spokane, a Tri-City hospital.
He was eventually transferred to hospice care in Kennewick owing to the severity of his brain impairment, though.
Tragically, he never recovered consciousness, and on July 29, 2017, he passed away.
The Pasco Police Department was tasked with finding and apprehending the person who fired the fatal shot in the Jorge Rodriguez Murder investigation.
Around 10:34 PM, a 911 caller reported seeing an injured man running around and trying to block traffic on Lewis Street. Pasco Police Department soon received the call.
The caller was looking for help because he thought he could have accidently hurt himself.
The Pasco Police Department’s Sergeant Chad Pettijohn noted that owing to the potential of fireworks-related mishaps on July 4, law enforcement personnel are ready for such calls.
The officers quickly realised that it was not a fireworks event as they arrived on the site.
Jorge was sobbing and gripping his face as he stood on the pavement. According to the first responders’ report, he was shot because of his wound.
The police started interviewing witnesses while the paramedics took him to a neighbouring hospital.
One person gave them a hint by pointing in the direction Jorge had specified, saying he had smashed his car there.
Jorge’s blood trail was found by the officers after they followed the instructions.
They tracked it down, and in a parking lot behind the Los Pinos restaurant, they discovered his Cadillac Escalade smashed into another car.
The parked automobile was struck by the black Cadillac after it crossed a fence.
Then, detectives looked for security footage to provide light on the puzzling happenings.
The camera film, which showed Jorge’s Cadillac Escalade speeding recklessly before slamming into the fence, was made available to them after they approached Los Pinos management.
Another camera angle used by the restaurant to film the parking lot captured gunshots inside the automobile moments before the crash.
Video also showed Jorge staggering out of his car and pleading for assistance in the street as the alleged offender fled the scene.
Unfortunately, the shooter’s identify was obscured by the camera.
The investigators looked over the video footage from all of the CCTV cameras along the escape route to determine the perpetrator’s route.
Just before the shots were fired, they saw the shooter going towards the parking lot, as recorded by a private home’s video.
The guy was caught on camera by other nearby establishments as he was seen walking around and making an effort to steal a car.
The officers thought it was a bungled carjacking despite the fact that none of the recordings clearly displayed the suspect’s face.
The officers found this after looking over Jorge’s wrecked Cadillac.a number of Fiesta Foods shopping bags and 32-caliber shell casings.
They made the decision to check the store’s internal security footage to see if Jorge had been followed from there.
Detectives witnessed Jorge buying his groceries, paying the clerk with a big bill, and chatting with him while he counted his change.
One of the detectives saw a person standing around a short distance from the counter in the meantime.
They were drawn to the man because he was wearing apparel that matched that of the alleged shooter in other CCTV images, which attracted their attention.
Although the CCTV video from Fiesta Foods offered a clear image, the officers were unable to recognise the suspect’s face due to the camera’s above perspective.
On the suspect’s T-shirt, they did see the Dallas Cowboys logo, though.
The detectives were discouraged by the lack of progress when they got a tip from an anonymous source that led to a significant discovery.
The tip identified Pedro Cadenas, a suspect who was 17 at the time, along with a vital piece of information: he was in possession of a.32-caliber pistol.
Since the police had not made this information public, they were able to easily detain Pedro at his girlfriend’s Sunnyside home.
Pedro, however, cited his Miranda rights and declined to assist the investigators.
The officers received aid from a confidential source who claimed that Pedro had confessed to the crime as they were running out of time to either charge or release him inside the allotted 24-hour timeframe.
The informant claims that Pedro attended a barbecue following the incident while still sporting blood-stained attire and acknowledged shooting someone.
Pedro Cadenas was sentenced to a significant amount of time in jail for his involvement in the Jorge Rodriguez murder case.
Charges of first-degree murder, second-degree unauthorised possession of a firearm, and attempted car theft with a firearm enhancement were brought against Pedro based on a combination of surveillance video evidence and the informant’s testimony.
Pedro was found guilty of all charges in November 2018 and received a sentence of 36 years and two months in prison in 2019.
At the Stafford Creek Correctional Facility, Pedro, who is 23 years old, is completing his term.