Families React To Noyola's Sentence In The Death Of Ricky Betancur

A man convicted of hitting and killing a father of three with a baseball bat last year is sentenced to ten years behind bars.

But the family of the victim, Ricky Betancur said ten years isn't enough.

Both families sat in the courtroom waiting for Eric Noyola to be sentenced late Wednesday afternoon. But before that, there was emotional testimony from the family of Ricky Betancur about the jury's ten year sentence recommendation.

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“We were given the opportunity to address the court and let the judge know how this has affected our lives, and we wish the sentence had been harsher,” said Amy Sanders, Ricky Betancur's cousin.

Eric Noyola showed no emotion as he was sentenced ten years in prison for the second degree murder of Betancur.

Noyola's family rushed out of the courtroom after speaking with defense attorney William Bratton.

“That's all I'm going to say, It's not fair,” said a brother of Noyola.

“The judge certainly did his job, the prosecutor did his job, I did my job, and the jury did their job,” said Bratton. “They're the ones that made the decision.”

Back in April, both Noyola and Betancur were at Boomer Sports Complex watching friends play baseball when a brawl broke out in the parking lot.

“A war zone,” said best friend, David Rogers. “It was the worst thing I've ever seen. The worse thing I've ever encountered.”

Rogers was there when the fight broke out.

“He ran up behind Ricky, he used a baseball bat. He could have simply just tackled Ricky, but yet he chose to hit him with a bat, and that to me, you have intent,” said Rogers.

Noyola claimed to grab the bat in self-defense and was not intending to kill him. But Betancur died from his injuries from the blow to his head five days after the fight.

“What he did, he did it with purpose, and he has no remorse, and that's the thing that hurts the most,” said Rogers.

“We just can't fathom how ten years, how a jury can think that ten years is sufficient.”

Noyola's defense attorney said he plans to appeal Wednesday's sentencing.

Noyola was originally facing a first degree murder charge, but the jury convicted Noyola of a lesser second degree murder charge.