Yuma man rejects plea offer and faces potential life in prison sentence

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - The Yuma man charged in connection to a fatal shooting at the Econo Lodge Motel over one-year ago will stand trial and face the risk of life in prison in April.

After being behind bars for over a year, the state prosecutors made a plea offer to 25-year-old Izak Lucero, reducing his sentence to just 25 years in prison on second-degree murder charges with stipulations.

On Thursday morning, Lucero rejected the offer, ultimately leaving his fate of life in prison in the hands of a jury.

Now he will face a jury trial where the state will pursue a natural life sentence on consecutive charges.

If convicted, Lucero will be sentenced to life behind bars.

The trial is set to begin on April 5th and will run its course throughout the month.

Lucero faces six felony charges after being accused of killing 21-year-old Luis Delgadillo, who was shot multiple times and pronounced dead at the scene in August 2020.

The charges include second-degree premeditated murder, misconduct involving weapons, aggravated assault, and three other drug charges all related to the crime.

YPD said they were on the lookout for Lucero when they spotted him in a car that failed to stop less than a week after the shooting. After a brief chase, he was caught and taken into custody.

Court records show, Lucero served jail time on two previous instances. One after being charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in 2014 and in 2018 he was charged with criminal damage and served time as well.

During one of his previous hearings, state attorneys described Lucero to be a very dangerous man.