COLLIN COUNTY, Texas — A Collin County man will spend the rest of his life in prison for fatally stabbing a man 63 times outside an indoor soccer facility in 2021, officials announced.
Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis said 56-year-old Artemio Yanez of Plano was sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to the murder of 69-year-old Emilio Romero.
On June 8, 2021, Plano police officers responded to a stabbing call outside Plano Bazaar in the 1400 block of Jupiter Road. When they arrived, police said they found Romero inside his vehicle suffering from multiple stab wounds.
Romero was taken to a local hospital, where he later died from his injuries, police said.
Plano PD said Yanez was followed by a witness after he tried fleeing the scene in his van. That witness then contacted police, and officers then located Yanez and took him into custody, police said.
Officers said Yanez was shirtless and appeared to have blood on his arms and cheek when they found him. They also said they found a bloody six-inch knife when they searched his vehicle.
A second witness came forward at the crime scene with video of the attack. Police said that footage showed Yanez standing outside the victim’s vehicle at the driver's side, repeatedly stabbing Romero as he sat in his driver seat.
An autopsy later revealed Romero had 63 stab wounds, police said.
Plano detectives never determined the motive behind the murder or learned about any confrontation that took place before the attack. But police did discover that both Romero and Yanez had each been living out of their vehicles for an extended period of time.
After Yanez’s guilty plea, prosecutors presented evidence against him in the punishment phase. Prosecutors said that, during the time Yanez has been in jail, he has been violent against other inmates and detention officers.
Yanez also had prior convictions of assault involving bodily injury and driving while intoxicated.
After hearing all of the evidence, Collin County Judge Angela Tucker sentenced Yanez to life in prison.
“Brutally stabbing an innocent victim 63 times shocks the conscience,” DA Willis said after sentencing. “Permanently getting this dangerously violent man off the streets allows others to live their lives in peaceful safety.”
