SAN ANGELO, TX – A Ballinger man signed a plea deal Wednesday afternoon in a brutal capital murder shooting death at a San Angelo hotel sentencing him to 40 years in a Texas prison.
According to the court admonishments, published on Aug. 3, Cody Salazar, 32, of Ballinger, along with representatives with District Attorney's Office, signed a plea deal to avoid a capital murder trial. Salazar was indicted on capital murder charges in Jan. 2022 after police found evidence that he killed Daniel Chandler.
The alleged murder took place at a local hotel, the Inn on the Conchos. At the time of the murder police say they discovered Chandler's body with two bullet holes; one to the chest and the other to the abdomen.
Salazar also has a codefendant. 20-year-old Joshua Garcia, of Lubbock, was also charged with the murder. He was not charged with capital murder.
In previously released court documents, it is alleged that the two met with Chandler at the motel to make a drug deal. During the incident Salazar and another man had a shootout. This resulted in Chandler's death.
For more on Chandler's murder see: Details: Witnesses Describe Murder at Inn of the Conchos
Salazar signed a plea to a lesser charge of first degree murder in exchange for the 40 year sentence. Since prosecutors had already abandoned the death penalty, Salazar was facing a sentence of life in prison without parole.
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