A South Carolina restauranteur who shot dead his wife's much younger lover after he found him naked in the back of a pickup truck with her on Valentine's Day has been sentenced to 30 years behind bars.
Gregorio Leon, 55, founder of the Midlands restaurants chain San Jose Mexican, was found guilty of murder on Thursday at the Lexington County courthouse in the murder of his wife Raquel 'Rachel' Leon's beau Arturo Bravo Santos, 28, in 2016.
A jury, made up of seven women and five men, deliberated for more than two hours to reach a judgement during the three-week trial.
Judge Walton J. McLeod IV read the verdict aloud as family and friends of Leon, including his two adult sons, sat in the courtroom. He was also sentenced to an additional five years for weapons possession that will be served concurrently.
The most damning evidence during the trial was the 911 call Leon made 11 minutes after the shooting where he confessed to the violent crime.
'I shot my wife and her lover, dude,' he said.
Jilted spouse: Greg Leon, 55, founder of the Midlands restaurants chain San Jose Mexican, was found guilty of murder on Thursday for fatally shooting his wife's lover, Arturo Bravo Santos
Pictured: Rachel Leon was having an affair with her much younger lover Arturo Bravo Santos, 28, and was shot dead by her jealous husband, Gregorio Leon on February 14, 2016
Rachel worked as a cashier on Friday nights at one of Leon’s restaurants.
According to the testimony, she managed the candy concessions at the host stations and had access to his safe and betrayed him with a younger man.
During the trial she was not called to the stand.
Before the sentencing seven family members and friends including his two adult sons testified to what they called Leon's 'good character, The State reported.
One of his sons, a former Lexington town councilman, said his father saved his home from foreclosure.
Leon's attorney and longtime friend, Eric Bland, who had convinced him to surrender to police after the February 14, 2016, shooting, called him a 'hard-working businessman.'
'There are so many people that depend on Greg, their livelihoods, their families... my life is crushed,' he said, in part.
Leon's two adult sons stood as they watched their father being handcuffed.
Prosecutor Rick Hubbard painted Leon as a 'control freak' who was driven to kill his wife and her lover to avenge his wounded honor.
During his closing arguments Hubbar said: 'His plan was to kill two people, his wife and her lover,' Hubbard said. 'And he succeeded in killing one person, Arturo.'
Leon tracked his wife to a Lexington County park-and-ride with a GPS tracker hidden in her car, and fatally shot the bare Santos, who was wearing only socks, while in a jealous rage.
The pickup truck had been gifted to Santos by Rachel.
After the murder Leon claimed self-defense. A pathologist initially supported this narrative by claiming that Bravos' arm was raised at the time of the shooting, and therefore could have been reaching for a weapon.
The same pathologist however later testified that his arm was actually down by his side, poking a major hole in Leon's self-defense claim.
'It’s just amazing how she changed her testimony... she changed the entire dynamic of the case. How about that?' said Swerling.
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