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BRIGHAM CITY, Utah (AP) -- Jurors took less than three hours to convict a man in the beating and stabbing death of a Logan man.
Gerardo Gonzales, 34, was found guilty Thursday in the death of Alberto Hernandez, 49, whose bludgeoned body was found April 12 in a field near Plymouth in Box Elder County. Sentencing is set for Dec. 9 before 1st District Judge Ben Hadfield. Gonzales faces a likely five-years-to-life prison term.
Gonzales, 34, and girlfriend Chantelle Sartin, 24, of Logan, were arrested for the murder investigators said occurred during the daylight hours of March 28.
Attorneys on both sides said the case turned on Sartin, who pleaded guilty to lesser charges in exchange for her testimony against Gonzales.
Hernandez was known to carry large amounts of cash in a roll of bills. Hernandez was last seen March 28 leaving his workplace, Pallets of Utah, in Logan, and relatives had reported him missing.
Sartin took the stand to say she caught only a glimpse but thought Gonzales unloaded a body from the trunk of his car while she sat in the passenger seat, obeying his command not to look.
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
