Antonio Flores-Cuellar has been sentenced to 25 years to life in state prison for the murder of 18-year-old Andrea Cervantes Alejandre, who was found dead in a Tracy apartment in 2019.
San Joaquin County Superior Court Judge Northup handed down the sentence on April 10 following Cuellar’s no-contest plea to first-degree premeditated murder.
In a statement, District Attorney Ron Freitas said the resolution brings long-awaited justice to the victim’s family.
“The relentless pursuit of truth by our law enforcement partners and my team ensures that violent offenders like Cuellar face the consequences of their actions, no matter where they flee,” he said.
Tracy police discovered Cervantes Alejandre’s body on June 22, 2019, in an apartment on Carlton Way. According to prosecutors, the 18-year-old, a U.S. citizen who had recently relocated from Mexico, was living with Flores-Cuellar at the time. She was found with an 8-inch fixed-blade knife lodged in her neck.
After the homicide, Flores-Cuellar sold his car in Fresno and fled to Mexico. Authorities tracked him down in late 2023. He was arrested and extradited to San Joaquin County in 2024 to face prosecution.
The case was led by Tracy Police Detective Wesley Bancroft and prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Lesley Scharmann Lyberger.