Jose Cruz, convicted of 2011 Reno murder when he was a teenager, dies

Jose Cruz, who became Nevada’s youngest inmate when he was convicted of murder at age 13, died in prison.

Cruz, 26, was serving a life sentence for second-degree murder for the shooting death of Steve Gale, 27, on California Avenue in Reno in May 2011. The shooting culminated a crime spree that is extended from Carson City to Reno.

Cruz died at High Desert State Prison in Indian Springs on Sept. 16, the Nevada Department of Corrections said in a statement. No cause has been released and an autopsy has been requested.

In 2011, Cruz and three others were arrested after a series of armed robberies and other crimes that lasted several hours from May 7 to 8. The party ended with Gale’s murder.

Gale was walking home with two friends when Cruz, Jacob Sanchez and his brother Luis Sanchez attempted to steal one of their friend’s purses. Jacob Sanchez, then 21, shot Gale in the back during a fight.

Jacob Sanchez was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without parole. His girlfriend, Aurora Rodriguez-Perez, then 22, drove the crew to and from the flights. She pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole in 2012.

Luis Sanchez, 19 at the time, was also convicted of second-degree murder with use of a deadly weapon. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison for murder; he was conditionally released in 2024, according to prison records.

Cruz pleaded guilty in the case and entered prison on December 2, 2011. He was Nevada’s youngest inmate and youngest murderer in recent history.