Marvin Palencia was found guilty Friday of first-degree murder, tampering with physical evidence and related weapons offenses in connection with the shooting death of 36-year-old Jacobo Vazquez.
Jurors in the case delivered their verdict after deliberating for approximately a day and a half.
Prosecutors alleged at trial that Palencia planned the murder after learning of a months-long affair between his wife and Vazquez. But Palencia’s defense attorneys argued that Palencia only wanted to scare Vazquez on the night of November 11, 2010, but became fearful after Vazquez pulled a knife from his shoe, so he shot him.
Vazquez’s body was found in a cardboard box wrapped with duct tape on the side of I-70 in Maryland, five days after the fatal encounter he and Palencia had in a storage room at their place of employment. He suffered two gunshot wounds: one to the torso and one to the back of the head.
Palencia is scheduled to be sentenced October 11.
