Man convicted of first-degree murder in 2024 Sacramento hotel stabbing
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- Jury convicts Gino Quintero Espinosa of first-degree murder in 2024 stabbing.
- Antonio Young was attacked while visiting fiancée at hotel front desk.
- Sentencing set for Sept. 19.
A jury convicted a man of first-degree murder Wednesday in a fatal stabbing last year at an Extended Stay America hotel in South Natomas, according to the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office.
Gino Quintero Espinosa faces a maximum sentence of 26 years to life in prison in the death of Antonio Young, who was visiting his fiancée, who was working at the hotel’s front desk.
Espinosa wasn’t registered at the hotel on Nov. 10, 2024, but he tried to persuade a staffer to give him a key to a room, prosecutors said in a statement released Thursday.
“When staff refused to give him a key, Espinosa became irate and tried to forcibly enter the room,” the prosecutors stated.
Both the hotel staff and Antonio Young tried to persuade Espinosa to leave, according to prosecutors, and the two men left for the parking lot.
Outside, “Espinosa pulled out a knife and stabbed the unarmed victim 15 times, fatally wounding him,” the DA’s Office reported.
According to Young’s fiancée, Nicole Hart, Young had begun checking on her regularly after she reported repeated threats from guests and other safety concerns to her employer.
Defense attorney Charles Anthony Pacheco argued that Espinosa acted in self-defense, saying a video camera captured what happened.
“The entire incident lasted only approximately 17 seconds,” Pacheco said in a statement. “A police officer agreed that the decedent attacked Mr. Espinosa. In my opinion, the verdict is incorrect.”
Hart has filed a civil lawsuit against Extended Stay America, alleging the company failed to protect her from workplace violence and terminated her after the incident.
Deputy District Attorney Danny Jensen of the Homicide Unit tried the case. Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Steve White is scheduled to sentence Espinosa on Sept. 19 at 1:30 p.m.
