25 years to life for man who stabbed victim in Chula Vista hotel room

A man who fatally stabbed another man in a Chula Vista hotel room — his body was later found abandoned in Jamul — was sentenced Friday to 25 years to life in prison.

Jorge Gilberto Rodriguez, 36, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the death of Jesse Valdez, 40, who prosecutors said was stabbed twice at the Red Roof Inn.

Valdez, an Imperial Beach resident, was reported missing about a week after prosecutors say he went to the hotel on April 1, 2023.

Her body was discovered on Skyline Truck Trail in Jamul a few weeks after she went missing. Valdez was wrapped in a comforter with a Red Roof Inn label.

Four other people accused of complicity have already been sentenced.

A missing persons flyer circulating at the time of Valdez's disappearance states that Valdez told his mother on April 1 that he was “heading to Chula Vista to meet someone to pick up some tools.”

A motive for the killing has not been released, but Assistant District Attorney Amy Colby said in court Friday that the crime “involved the lure of Jesse Valdez” to the Red Roof Inn.

When Rodriguez was arraigned last year, Assistant Prosecutor Evan Anderson said surveillance video obtained from the hotel showed the victim entering a hotel room at 12:40 a.m. on April 1. A minute later, Rodriguez entered, wearing gloves. Rodriguez came out two minutes later with a shirt over his face.

Rodriguez returned in the middle of the night, carrying cleaning supplies. An hour later, he carried a body wrapped in a white comforter out of the room, loaded it into a vehicle and left, Anderson said.

On Friday, Prosecutor Colby said that after the murder, Rodriguez went to a casino, where he “had fun and partied,” before returning to clean the room and remove the body.

San Diego Union-Tribune editors contributed to this story.