Family of murder victim finally gets justice, 16 years after the crime was committed
It may have taken 16 years, but the family of murder victim Andrew Lara Alvarez finally received justice Friday with the sentencing of his killer Joseph Preston Shepherd.
The 51-year-old Shepherd, of Fresno, was sent to prison for 31 years to life for the June 2005 stabbing death of Alvarez, 40.
Prosecutor Deborah Miller was pleased with the outcome.
“The defendant killed Andrew Alvarez with extreme violence and brutality. He continued to commit violent crimes after the murder,” she said. “His sentence of 31 years to life is fair and just. The Alvarez family finally has justice for Andrew after 16 long years.”
For years, Alvarez’s murder remained unsolved. His naked, decomposing body was found by police on June 30, 2005. They were responding to a 911 call at his home on Glenn Avenue near downtown Dickey Playground.
An autopsy revealed he had been stabbed multiple times. The examination also uncovered DNA evidence under his fingernails, indicating he fought with his killer.
Fresno police detectives quickly identified Shepherd as a possible suspect after he was found driving Alvarez’s 2006 green Nissan Pathfinder. He was arrested but later released for a lack of evidence.
That key piece of evidence surfaced when the DNA that was taken from underneath Alvarez’s fingernails finally came back with a match: it was Shepherd’s.
According to court documents, homicide Det. Bartlett Ledbetter found Shepherd was in a Kern County prison on a domestic violence conviction. He interviewed Shepherd on two separate occasions, and he ultimately confessed, according to court records.
Shepherd told Ledbetter he killed Alvarez with a kitchen knife. In an affidavit, “Shepherd claimed he became enraged when the decedent approached him in the nude and made unwanted sexual advances toward him.”
A Fresno County jury convicted Shepherd on July 13, finding him guilty of second-degree murder.
