Man sentenced in 1994 Earlimart shooting death

A man who detectives tracked to a Michigan prison pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in Tulare County and has been sentenced to 21 years in prison, the Tulare County District Attorney’s Office said Wednesday.

Liborio Chavez, 64, shot Francisco Cardenas, 43, to death on Feb. 25, 1994. He pleaded guilty last month to voluntary manslaughter, kidnapping and criminal threats, and admitted using a gun.

They were last seen driving away from a gas station in Earlimart. The next morning Cardenas was found dead on the side of road from a gunshot wound to the head.

Chavez fled, and the case went cold until two years ago when Tulare County detectives got a tip that he was incarcerated in Michigan. They went to Michigan, interviewed him and determined he was wanted for homicide. Last year, he was extradited to California for prosecution.

This story was originally published July 8, 2015 at 5:04 PM with the headline "Man sentenced in 1994 Earlimart shooting death."