LAKE COUNTY, Fla. – A Lake County judge has sentenced a 35-year-old man to life in prison without the chance of parole for a 2019 shooting that left a Mascotte father dead.
Judge Cary F. Rada handed down the punishment to Alexander Aguilar today. The courtroom heard several emotional statements from the victim’s family before the prosecution and defense gave their final arguments. A jury had already convicted Aguilar back on April 22 of second-degree murder with a firearm, as well as aggravated battery with a firearm. Along with the life sentence for the murder charge, the judge tacked on a mandatory minimum of 25 years for the battery charge.
Aide Cruz, the mother of 35-year-old victim Juan Ramon Cruz, spoke directly about the lasting damage the crime caused.
“I did something no mother should have done that night, and that was see my son for the very last time, in a body bag,” she told the court. “His death devastated our family, and now my two young granddaughters, his daughters, will have to grow up without their dad.”
The case dates back to a violent night in June 2019. Mascotte Police officers answered a call about a shooting and found Cruz unresponsive in the street. He was pronounced dead right there at the scene. Paramedics also treated a second victim who had been shot in the knee. While getting medical help, that surviving victim told police that Aguilar fired the shots and then drove away in a black Ford F-350 pickup truck.
Witnesses explained to detectives that a group of friends was hanging out and drinking when Aguilar arrived with his own friends. A physical fight broke out between Aguilar and Cruz, which another witness managed to break up. But instead of leaving things alone, Aguilar walked out to the front yard, grabbed a weapon, and fired toward both victims before taking off.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office stepped in to help the investigation and quickly put out an alert for the black truck. Deputies in neighboring Sumter County spotted the vehicle, noticed bullet holes along its side, and pulled it over. They found Aguilar sitting in the passenger seat and detained him for questioning.
After being read his rights, Aguilar admitted he pulled the trigger. He tried to argue he shot the men in self-defense, but the jury rejected that claim during the trial. Assistant State Attorney Edward Moffitt successfully prosecuted the case, leading to today’s final life sentence.
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