Case ends for auto body shop owner who strangled husband, stuffed him in freezer

Jacob Medina Cervantes has agreed to a plea deal with prosecutors that will send him to prison for killing his husband and stuffing his body into a freezer at the Ceres auto body shop they owned.

Cervantes on Monday morning pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the death of Thomas Kroger. They were married and business partners, but their relationship turned violent after Kroger became upset about cars not being repaired on time as promised.

The defendant also pleaded guilty to grand theft for stealing more than $950 from Kroger, which included withdrawing cash and taking Kroger’s personal belongings after the victim’s death. Cervantes told police he used Kroger’s credit cards and grabbed Kroger’s belongings at the shop, before burning them in a Delhi park barbecue pit.

Cervantes also pleaded guilty to a charge of filing false documentation to marry Kroger. Deputy District Attorney John R. Mayne, who prosecuted the case, said Cervantes lied in filed documentation when he said he wasn’t already married to someone else.

The plea agreement means Cervantes will be sentenced to 12 years and four months in prison. As part of the deal, Cervantes agreed that he will not be credited with time he’s already served while in custody at the Stanislaus County Jail. He has been held there since April 15, 2015; that’s more than five years behind bars while awaiting prosecution.

Cervantes’ guilty plea helps him avoid a trial scheduled to start May 14. Had a jury convicted him of second-degree murder, he could have faced a maximum of 15 years to life in prison.

On April 14, 2014, police found Kroger’s body stuffed inside in a chest-style freezer. Authorities believe Kroger, 49, had killed sometime between Dec. 1, 2013, and the date his body was found.

Police made the discovery while helping the property owner of the industrial complex off Railroad Avenue, south of Whitmore Avenue, with a civil complaint against Cervantes. Inside the shop, there were hardly any pieces of repair equipment or tools.

Cervantes told then Ceres police detective Derek Perry that Kroger came at him with a knife in his hand at the auto body shop, according to testimony from an October 2015 preliminary hearing.

The defendant said he took off his jacket and wrapped it around his hand to defend himself against Kroger, according to Perry. Cervantes also said he punched Kroger six to seven times in the face to subdue him. Kroger dropped the knife, and then Cervantes strangled Kroger.

During cross-examination at the 2015 hearing, Perry said he questioned several people who knew Kroger and described him as a violent man. Perry also said he questioned others who had good things to say about Kroger.

Sacramento marriage

Mindy Gutierrez told Perry she was married to Cervantes. She also told the detective that blankets investigators found in the freezer appeared to be bedding they used to have in a home Gutierrez and the defendant previously shared.

Cervantes apparently was married to Gutierrez and Kroger at the same time. Investigators obtained a copy of a Sacramento marriage license for Cervantes and Kroger, who also was known as Thomas Cervantes.

Gutierrez and the defendant had been together since they were teenagers. She said her husband was, at times, very secretive and would not live with her. When investigators questioned Gutierrez and her husband on April 15, 2014, Cervantes was living with his wife at her parents’ home but wasn’t staying there every night.

Cervantes told Perry that Kroger had blackmailed him into the relationship and the marriage. The defendant said Kroger was a customer before the two started spending time together. Cervantes at one point was invited to Kroger’s home. That’s where Kroger drugged him, Cervantes claimed.

During the 2014 police interview, Cervantes seemed reluctant to discuss his relationship with Kroger. Perry testified that Cervantes had “Thomas” tattooed on his chest, and Kroger had “Jacob” tattooed on his chest.

Serious and violent felony

At Monday’s hearing, Cervantes sat quietly in Stanislaus Superior Court Judge Shawn Bessey’s courtroom. He was wearing an orange-and-white jail inmate jumpsuit and only spoke to answer the judge’s questions. Cervantes said he was entering a guilty plea to avoid trial. He told the judge he understood the prison sentence, which officially starts this week.

Cervantes, who will remain in custody at the jail until he’s transferred to a prison, will return to court June 7, when he will be formally sentenced.

This story was originally published May 6, 2019 at 3:59 PM.