Milwaukee 2019 homicide, Victor Cintron gets life in prison

MILWAUKEE - A Milwaukee man has been sentenced to life in prison – convicted of first-degree intentional homicide for a 2019 shooting.

Prosecutors accused 26-year-old Victor Cintron of shooting two people in a targeted attack.

The shooting happened near 27th and Forest Home on May 3, 2019 – weeks after victim Lexi Rivera, the mother of Cintron's child, pressed charges for repeatedly assaulting and threatening her.

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Rivera told FOX6 News at the time that her then-boyfriend, Jose Rodriguez, threw his body over her when shots were fired at their vehicle – protecting her and their unborn child. 

According to a criminal complaint, officers arrived at the scene and found a white car riddled with bullets. The driver of the car, Rodriguez, had a faint pulse. Officers initiated life-saving efforts, but Rodriguez was declared deceased at the scene. The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office indicated Rodriguez had been shot eight times. They ruled the death a homicide.

Investigators found 21 spent bullet casings at the crime scene. They determined all of these casings were fired from the same weapon. Rivera told officers that Cintron was the man who pulled up alongside them and fired shots into the car. Also, three other occupied vehicles in the area of the crime scene were struck by gunfire.

Rivera was injured, cut by shattered glass, the complaint states.

Weeks after the shooting, Cintron was arrested in Madera, California – picked up by U.S. marshals and police. Officials determined Cintron's exact whereabouts, and a SWAT team responded. He was taken out of the home by negotiators and SWAT team members and arrested without incident.

The search for Cintron had resulted in a fatal officer-involved shooting in Milwaukee May 7 near 7th and Mitchell – nearly two miles away from the initial homicide scene.

Then-Milwaukee Police Chief Alfonso Morales said at the time that officers were in the area conducting surveillance with an arrest warrant issued for Cintron. While police officers were conducting surveillance, officials said two men – one who was masked and armed with a semi-automatic weapon – approached the officers' vehicle. 

Morales said the officers, who were in plain clothes, feared for their safety and believed they were going to be robbed. Two officers fired shots at the armed and masked man, fatally wounding him. His handgun was recovered at the scene. Police identified him as Cesar Tomix Sarmiento-Molina, 34. The second man, 18, fled from officers and was taken into custody after a short pursuit.

In August, a jury found Cintron guilty of all counts he faced:

• First-degree intentional homicide
• Attempted first-degree intentional homicide
• First-degree recklessly endangering safety (3 counts)

He is eligible for parole after serving 50 years of his life sentence, court documents state.

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