Jury gives death sentence to man who killed two workers in Tulare County orchard

After several weeks of deliberation, a jury in Visalia handed down the death penalty for a Reedley man convicted of murdering two field workers.

Earlier this month, Hernan Rodriguez, 29, was found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder in the killing of two men in a plum orchard in Dinuba in 2015. A third man was shot but survived.

Rodriguez was also convicted of three counts of attempted murder with the use of a firearm and being a felon in possession of a firearm. The murder and attempted murder counts came with special circumstances.

“The jury’s recommendation of death is still legal in California. Voters have continually shown their support of this penalty, including those here in our county,” Tulare County District Attorney Tim Ward said in a statement Thursday.

“We will fully encourage the court to confirm the jury’s recommendation at sentencing.”

Sentencing is scheduled for April 17.

The victims, who worked with Rodriguez at the orchard, where on lunch break when he shot them with a highly modified sawed-off, 9 mm semi-automatic rifle wrapped in duct tape, the DA’s office said.

Rodriguez used a strategic vantage point and took a soldier’s stance with the weapon, firing seven shots in rapid succession. One of the men was shot in the head and died at the scene. The second, was taken to the hospital where he remained on life support for several weeks.

“The victims in this case were hard working grandfathers who provided for their families in more ways than one,” Ward said. “That their lives ended in an act of workplace violence is a tragedy.”

This story was originally published January 30, 2020 at 2:35 PM with the headline "Jury gives death sentence to man who killed two workers in Tulare County orchard."