RAMSEUR, N.C. — A Randolph County man has been sentenced to death after a jury unanimously convicted him of first-degree murder in the 2022 killing of 14-month-old Junior Jose “JJ” Ortiz Rodriguez , according to court documents.

On Wednesday, Superior Court Judge formally imposed the death penalty on Joel Vilchis Valdez-Beltran following the jury’s unanimous recommendation. The jury had found Beltran guilty of murder in the first degree, court documents show.

The sentence means Beltran will be transferred from the Randolph County Jail to Central Prison in Raleigh, where North Carolina’s death row is housed.

“This Court hereby sentences the defendant, Joel Vilchis Valdez-Beltran, to death,” the order read, ending with the traditional line, “May God have mercy on his soul.”

Valdez-Belt

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