SPARKS, NV — Two men convicted in the fatal shooting of 21-year-old Joel Undercoffer on El Rancho Drive in Sparks have been sentenced, marking another major step in a case that began with a late-night homicide in December 2022. Juan Anguiano received a prison term of 4 to 10 years for manslaughter, plus another 4 to 10 years for a deadly weapon enhancement. Those terms will be served consecutively.
Raul Torres-Cruz was sentenced to 10 to 25 years for second-degree murder and an additional 4 to 15 years for the weapon enhancement. His sentence will also be consecutive. A third man, Marc Delgado, is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 13 at 9 a.m.
Police say the shooting began with a nighttime call on El Rancho Drive
Sparks police said the shooting happened on the evening of Dec. 11, 2022, and that officers found the victim in the 1800 block of El Rancho Drive around 9 p.m. The man, who was in his 20s, had been shot and later died at Renown Regional Medical Center in Reno.
The victim was later identified as Joel Undercoffer. Police described the incident as a deadly shooting and launched an investigation that would eventually lead to arrests for all three defendants. Authorities said the case centered on an open murder investigation before the charges were resolved in court.
How the three defendants were identified and arrested
Investigators said the three men charged in the case were all from the Reno area. Delgado, who was 21 at the time, was arrested on July 26, 2023. Anguiano, then 19, was arrested on Oct. 11, 2023. Torres-Cruz, also 21, was arrested one week later on Oct. 18, 2023.
Sparks police said all three were held in the Washoe County Jail on open murder charges after their arrests. The sequence of arrests shows how the case unfolded over several months after the shooting, as detectives worked to identify the people involved and build the criminal case.
Consecutive prison terms add up to lengthy sentences
Anguiano received credit for 1,081 days already served, while Torres-Cruz received credit for 1,073 days served. The consecutive structure means each man’s weapon enhancement sentence will follow the underlying prison term rather than run at the same time.
In practical terms, that adds more time to the total sentence each defendant faces. Anguiano’s combined term totals 8 to 20 years, while Torres-Cruz’s combined sentence totals 14 to 40 years. The court’s decision reflects the seriousness of the homicide and the additional penalty tied to the use of a deadly weapon.
Marc Delgado remains set for an Oct. 13 sentencing hearing
Delgado’s case is still pending sentencing, with a hearing scheduled for 9 a.m. on Oct. 13. No sentence has been announced for him yet, and the court has not publicly detailed the outcome of his conviction in the material provided with the case update.
His hearing will complete the next major court step in the prosecution tied to the December 2022 killing. With two of the three men already sentenced, the case is now moving toward final resolution for all defendants involved in the fatal shooting.
Secret Witness reward helped keep attention on the case
After the shooting, Sparks police asked for the public’s help and directed tips to Secret Witness at 775-322-4900. The anonymous tip line offered a $5,000 reward for information that could help investigators.
That call for assistance was part of the early response as detectives worked to identify suspects and piece together what happened on El Rancho Drive. The case later resulted in arrests, convictions and now sentencing, showing the progression from an overnight homicide investigation to a completed courtroom process for two of the defendants.
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