Rusk man sentenced to life for robbing and killing elderly man

CHEROKEE COUNTY – A Rusk man has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for robbing and killing a 70-year-old man in 2022. According to the Cherokee County District Attorney’s Office and our news partner KETK, on April 22, 2022, Christopher Anthony Peoples of Rusk robbed and attacked Valentine Ortega Sanchez with a knife, leaving him dead in his driveway near Martin Luther King Boulevard and Dixon Avenue.

Officials said around 1 a.m. on April 23, 2022, Peoples fled from deputies in a vehicle while disposing of evidence south of Rusk on FM 241, and then wrecked in the 3000 block of FM 241.

Deputies removed Peoples from the vehicle, and began life-saving measures before EMS arrived and took him to a local hospital by helicopter where he was then arrested for evading arrest in a vehicle.

While in police custody, Peoples “confessed to committing the act of murder at a residence on Dixon Avenue in Rusk,” according to a release from the sheriff’s office. On April 28, 2022, a warrant for capital murder was issued. The DA’s office said they presented four days of testimony, DNA evidence and video footage. “While fleeing police, Peoples attempted to dispose of evidence that proved his guilt,” the DA’s office said. The jury deliberated for less than an hour before finding Peoples guilty of capital murder, sentencing him to life in prison without possibility of parole.

“The efforts of the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office and Rusk Police Department ensured that Justice was done on this case,” Cherokee County District Attorney Jonathan Richey said.