A man was sentenced to 20 years in prison by a San Diego federal court today for his role in a drug trafficking conspiracy that resulted in the murders of two people, including a pregnant woman.
Ricardo Orizaba-Zendejas, 23, and co-defendant Benjamin Madrigal-Birrueta were charged with the deaths of Cesar Armando Murillo, 44, and Maira Sofia Hernandez, 33, a married couple who were shot and buried near a ranch in Yakima, Washington.
Prosecutors claim Madrigal-Birrueta, who pled guilty to federal charges, fatally shot Murillo and then orchestrated Hernandez’s murder, resulting in the death of her child in utero. Hernandez was 6 months pregnant at the time.
Madrigal-Birrueta is scheduled to be sentenced later.
According to the US Attorney’s Office, both the defendants and the victims were part of a Yakima-based drug trafficking operation that used stolen vehicles to smuggle drugs through San Diego-area ports of entry.
Prosecutors identified Madrigal-Birrueta as the group’s boss, with Orizaba-Zendejas serving as a “trusted lieutenant,” drug dealer, and debt collector.
The investigation into the organization began when authorities stopped the defendants’ brothers in a car registered to Hernandez and discovered 150,000 fentanyl tablets.
Soon after the traffic stop, federal investigators met with Murillo and Hernandez.
Prosecutors claim Madrigal-Birrueta later communicated with Murillo and Hernandez, who indicated “they wanted to quit the drug business and cooperate with the investigation,” which enraged Madrigal-Birrueta.
According to prosecutors, Madrigal-Birrueta shot Murillo numerous times in the back of the head and torso on August 28, 2022, at a Yakima ranch. He then brought Hernandez to the ranch just under a week later, promising to reunite her with her husband, but anonymous “co-conspirators” fatally shot her.
Following the killings, authorities claim Orizaba-Zendejas continued to collaborate with Madrigal-Birrueta “in ongoing drug trafficking operations and threats of violence against those perceived to challenge the organization.”
According to San Diego U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon, “This defendant was a critical part of a violent drug trafficking organization that chose to murder a young couple and their unborn child as they attempted to escape for a better life.”
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