INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) — A La Quinta man has been sentenced to more than 50 years to life in prison for his role in a drug-related robbery and killing that occurred on Christmas Day 2016 in Palm Desert.
Roger Rodriguez, 29, was convicted Thursday of murder and robbery at the Larson Justice Center in Indio. Court records show he received a determinate sentence of 11 years and eight months, followed by an additional sentence of 50 years to life.
Prosecutors said Rodriguez was involved in the killing of 24-year-old Skyler Siva during a planned marijuana purchase at Siva’s Palm Desert home on Dec. 25, 2016.
According to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, deputies responded just after 4 p.m. to a home in the 43400 block of Illinois Avenue, where they found Siva wounded but alive on his couch. He was transported to a hospital, where he died less than an hour later.
Investigators said Rodriguez carried out the robbery and shooting alongside Anthony Garcia, while Alejandro Zendejas acted as the getaway driver.
Zendejas pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in October 2018 and is scheduled to be sentenced on March 20. Garcia was convicted of murder and robbery in November 2021 and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Rodriguez’s case initially ended in a mistrial in 2021 after jurors were unable to reach a verdict. He was later retried and convicted.
Witnesses reported seeing Rodriguez flee from the home following the shooting. He was arrested three days later in Palm Desert. Garcia was taken into custody on Jan. 4, 2017, in La Quinta, while Zendejas was arrested 20 days later in Palm Desert.
Court records show Zendejas previously had a felony conviction for assault. Rodriguez had prior felony convictions for burglary and assault with a deadly weapon. Garcia has no documented felony convictions but has an unresolved robbery case.
