LEBANON, Pa. — A man convicted earlier this year of killing two people in Lebanon County in 2018 will serve consecutive life sentences, Lebanon County District Attorney Pier Hess Graf announced Wednesday.
A Lebanon County jury found Gilberto Torres Reyes guilty of two counts of first-degree murder and several other charges on June 26, after a week-long trial. Graf tried the case for the state.
"Our victims died alone, in the rain, on a dark roadway," said Graf in a press release announcing the sentence. "Each man gasped for air, choked on his own blood, and ultimately died as a result of the defendant's heinous actions. The defendant fled; he expressed no remorse. Even as the jury read its verdicts, he remained stone faced and cold. There is not one redeeming quality about the defendant. He has seven prior robbery convictions alone."
In June, the jury found that Reyes shot the victims to death after committing a bank robbery in Berks County on April 9, 2018. He paid the victims to help his flight from the robbery.
Reyes shot both victims in the back, and also shot his second victim in the face, according to Graf.
A witness placed all three men in a car together; the same witness indicated Torres smoked crack cocaine and used other drugs prior to killing the victims, Graf said at trial.
The car entered the Pennsylvania Turnpike and exited at the Lebanon-Lancaster Exit (Route 72). According to testimony, other drivers followed the vehicle as it drove north on Route 72. Gun shots ensued, the car crashed, and all three men fled the car, Graf said.
Both victims sustained fatal gunshot wounds inside the vehicle and collapsed on the roadway, according to evidence presented at trial.
Witnesses saw Torres flee the scene and try to carjack a passing motorist, Graf said. He ultimately escaped the immediate area, according to testimony.
Police located Reyes in a hospital, where he checked in under a fake name. Upon arrest, Reyes denied any involvement with the murders. He maintained a total lack of involvement when interviewed a second time, according to Graf.
Reyes was on parole for robbery at the time of the murders, Graf said.
Lebanon County Judge Bradford H. Charles agreed with Graf's assertion that Reyes should be sentenced separately for all charges and imposed consecutive life sentences for each first-degree murder conviction. Charles also order consecutive sentences for Reyes' other convictions on illegal possession of a firearm and flight to avoid apprehension.
