Florida man convicted of machete slaying at pot grow house

TAMPA, Fla. – A Florida man was convicted of killing a man with a machete after he and others broke into a marijuana grow house, prosecutors said in a Wednesday press release.

A judge in Hillsborough County sentenced Yuniel Sentmanat-Gonzalez, 41, to life in prison after a jury convicted him late Tuesday night of first-degree felony murder, burglary of a dwelling and attempted robbery.

The victim was operating a marijuana grow house inside his Brandon home when Sentmanat-Gonzalez and five others wearing masks shattered a sliding glass door and rushed into the house in 2015. The victim fought back and pulled the mask off one of the attackers while pushing them out of the house.

The victim’s girlfriend saw Sentmanat-Gonzalez’s face. The mask left at the scene also contained his DNA and he left fingerprints at the scene, according to the Hillsborough state attorney’s office.