{"id":239909,"date":"2022-10-28T10:13:53","date_gmt":"2022-10-28T15:13:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=239909"},"modified":"2022-10-28T10:38:43","modified_gmt":"2022-10-28T15:38:43","slug":"casino-arizona-murderer-receives-dual-life-sentences-for-taxi-drivers-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/casino-arizona-murderer-receives-dual-life-sentences-for-taxi-drivers-death\/","title":{"rendered":"Casino Arizona Murderer Receives Dual Life Sentences for Taxi Driver\u2019s Death"},"content":{"rendered":"

An Arizona<\/a> man was sentenced this week to two concurrent life prison terms. The sentence stems from the shooting death of a taxi driver outside of Casino Arizona<\/a> three years ago.<\/p>\n

\"Gabriel
Gabriel Milford Kavoka, pictured above, in a mug shot. He was sentenced to two life sentences for the shooting death of a taxi driver outside of Casino Arizona. (Image: KNXV<\/em>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On Thursday, US District Court Judge Susan M. Brnovich sentenced the defendant, Gabriel Milford Kavoka, 39, of Scottsdale. The hearing took place in Phoenix, Ariz. federal court.<\/p>\n

Kavoka earlier pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and carjacking resulting in death charges, according to a court document. The incident took place on Aug. 21, 2019, in Scottsdale\u2019s Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Kavoka took a taxi to Casino Arizona and, when he arrived at the property, shot the driver, Hilario Mendoza, in the casino\u2019s parking lot. Kavoka then stole the taxi. Mendoza died shortly after being shot, relatives told the media at the time of the murder.<\/p>\n

\"The
The entrance to Casino Arizona, pictured above. Three years ago, a taxi driver was shot and killed while in the casino’s parking lot. (Image: Casino Arizona)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The shooting instigated a high-speed chase police chase which ended in Mesa, Ariz. when the stolen vehicle collided with a police car near Gilbert Road and East Oak Street. It is about eight miles from the casino.<\/p>\n

In 2020, Kavoka was indicted on first-degree premeditated murder and carjacking charges. The murder charge later was lowered to second-degree murder.<\/p>\n

Victim was Father of Three<\/h2>\n

In the days following the murder, it was revealed that the victim was a 45-year-old father. He left behind three children. At the time of his death, they were 11, 14, and 17 years old.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would have given the person the car, I would have given the person whatever amount of money. Because nothing is worth taking a person\u2019s life,\u201d Hector Mendoza, Hilario\u2019s brother, told KPHO<\/em>, a local TV station, after the shooting.<\/p>\n

They took a good person for nothing,\u201d the victim\u2019s mother, Maria Mendoza, further told KPNX<\/em>, another local TV station, days after the shooting. \u201cI didn\u2019t even have the chance \u2026 to say goodbye to him.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Mendoza was driving for a local company, VIP Taxi, for only two weeks before the shooting. He wanted to return to a prior career in construction when the weather got cooler.<\/p>\n

Mendoza apparently had driven Kavoka to another casino first, before Kavoka said it was the wrong casino. So Mendoza then drove him to Casino Arizona.<\/p>\n

Defendant is Ex-Con<\/h2>\n

Before Thursday’s court proceeding, Kavoka served time in prison for assault and weapons charges, according to KNXV<\/em>, another local TV station. He was sentenced to almost 13 years for those crimes.<\/p>\n

In 2004, he pleaded guilty to assault with a dangerous weapon and discharging a firearm during an incident involving law enforcement officers, KPNX<\/em> reported.<\/p>\n

\n

Kavoka initially was released from prison in November 2018. Twice, his supervised release was revoked by federal officials, KNXV <\/em>said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Kavoka is a member of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An Arizona man was sentenced this week to two concurrent life prison terms. The sentence stems from the shooting death of a taxi driver outside of Casino Arizona three years ago. On Thursday, US District Court Judge Susan M. Brnovich sentenced the defendant, Gabriel Milford Kavoka, 39, of Scottsdale. The hearing took place in Phoenix, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":239918,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18456],"tags":[82094,13766,81862],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCasino Arizona Murderer Receives Life Sentences for Taxi Driver\u2019s Death<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A man was sentenced to two life prison terms. 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