WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A 25-year-old West Palm Beach man on Tuesday was sentenced to life in prison without parole in the fatal shooting of a Broward County man nearly two years ago.
In West Palm Beach on July 31, a jury found Luis Valdez guilty of first-degree murder with a firearm and felon in possession of a firearm.
Circuit Court Judge Howard Coates Jr. sentenced him to life in prison for the murder and 10 years for the firearm to be served consecutively.
Jaytwan McNeal, 23, was killed in September 2021.
Valdez sister, Sophia Valdez, 23, also is accused of first-degree murder but her trial date hasn't been set. The next court date is 8:30 a.m. on Aug. 24.
The siblings lived in the same mobile home park.
Palm Beach County sheriff's detectives say Sophia Valdez drove Jaytwan McNeal to her residence before her brother shot and killed him. McNeal was reported missing Sept. 25, 2021, four days after he was last seen on surveillance video walking away from his apartment complex in Oakland Park.
A tipster later told the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office that McNeal traveled north to Palm Beach County to meet with Sophia Valdez, a longtime friend and schoolmate.
The tipster claimed Valdez's older brother, Luis Valdez, shot and killed McNeal, wrapped his body in a blue tarp, loaded it into Sophia Valdez's car and then discarded it in a dumpster.
