Man gets murder sentence in fatal 2022 stabbing of unhoused Elk Grove man

A man convicted last October of fatally stabbing a homeless Elk Grove man in 2022 was sentenced last month to 26 years to life in prison for the killing, Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office officials said.

Aaron Dariel Spencer, 35, was convicted in October in Sacramento Superior Court of first-degree murder in the February 2022 stabbing death of Eric Roberts. Spencer and Roberts were both unhoused and socializing at an Elk Grove gas station, according to the District Attorney’s Office, when Spencer left, then returned and attacked Roberts.

Prosecutors said surveillance video from the gas station showed Spencer “acting aggressively and raising his arm in a stabbing motion before walking away,” the DA’s Office said. Gas station patrons heard Roberts’ screams before finding him dead with multiple stab wounds.

Spencer was later arrested wearing the same clothes seen in the surveillance video, the District Attorney’s Office said.

The sentencing before Sacramento Superior Court Judge Shelleyanne Chang took place March 6.

Darrell Smith

The Sacramento Bee

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Darrell Smith is a local reporter for The Sacramento Bee. He joined The Bee in 2006 and previously worked at newspapers in Palm Springs, Colorado Springs and Marysville. Smith was born and raised at Beale Air Force Base and lives in Elk Grove.