One of the four men convicted of the kidnapping and burning of Rosa Avina pleaded with a Merced County judge for a new trial Monday, shedding tears and claiming he's innocent.
Alvaro Montanez Reyes, 32, was given a mandated sentence of life without parole for his role in Avina's October 2007 murder.
Reyes lured her to a Turlock home, where she was kidnapped and burned alive by his three co-defendants over what authorities say was a pound of stolen pot.
A jury convicted Reyes in April of first-degree murder, with special circumstances for kidnapping and a second count of kidnapping.
During Monday's hearing, Judge John Kirihara turned down Reyes' motion for a new trial.
Of the co-defendants in the case, 27-year-old Luis Alberto Valencia and 27-year-old Urbano Ortega were sentenced to life without parole for murdering Avina.
The fourth defendant, Omar Cebrero, 21, was convicted of murder earlier this year and awaits sentencing.
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