Florida prosecutors to pursue capital charges against two murderers who had federal death sentences commuted by Prez Biden

As reportedin this local press piece, Florida “officials plan to begin proceedings to prosecute and seek the death penalty against two men whose federal death sentences for the 2006 drug-related slayings of a family on Florida’s Turnpike in St. Lucie County were commuted by former President Joe Biden.” Here is more:

The federal death sentences of Daniel “Homer” Troya, 42, and Ricardo “Ricky” Sanchez, Jr., 41, were commuted in December 2024. The two were sentenced to death in 2009 after their involvement in the drug-related slaughter of Jose Escobedo, 28, his 25-year-old wife and two young sons, ages 4 and 3, on Oct. 13, 2006, in gangland-style gunfire executions tied to a drug peddling operation in West Palm Beach. Troya and Sanchez are being held in a U.S. penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana.

Sheriff Richard Del Toro and State Attorney Thomas Bakkedahl on May 23 announced “the reopening of the 2006 Escobedo family murder case,” a news release states. Officials reported the reopening is in “direct response to the federal government’s commutation of the death sentences.”

“The calculated and unspeakably violent murders of the Escobedo family demand the highest level of accountability,” Bakkedahl said in the release. “With the federal death sentence no longer in effect, we believe the pursuit of justice now rests with the State of Florida. My office is committed to ensuring that the sentence ultimately reflects the gravity of this crime.”