Jonte Wunner (left) was convicted of murdering Jose Rodriguez (right) and dumping his body near the Woodridge rail trail on Oct. 4, 2024.

By Michael Mashburn From Daily Voice

A Hudson Valley man already serving time for murder has been sentenced to 33 years to life in prison for killing his neighbor and hiding the body along a Sullivan County trail.

Jonte Wunner, 27, of Monticello, received the stacked sentence Monday, Nov. 24, after a Sullivan County jury found he beat and shot 42-year-old Jose Rodriguez inside a Lakewood Avenue on Oct. 4, 2024.

After the killing, Wunner wrapped Rodriguez’s body in a tarp, transported it away from the home, and dumped it on the nearby Woodridge rail trail in an attempt to hide the crime, prosecutors said.

Investigators tied Wunner to the crime through witnesses, phone data, surveillance video, and DNA evidence.

Jurors found Wunner guilty of second-degree murder, concealing a human corpse, and tampering with physical evidence, all felonies.

Sullivan County Court Judge James Farrell imposed the maximum penalties for each charge and ordered all sentences to run consecutively. That includes:

  • 25 years to life for murder
  • 2 to 4 years for concealment
  • 2 to 4 years for tampering

Judge Farrell also ordered the entire Sullivan County sentence to run consecutively to the 35-years-to-life sentence Wunner received in Albany County earlier this year for a separate murder and weapons conviction. In total, Wunner will serve 68 years to life in state prison.

Sullivan County District Attorney Brian Conaty said the sentence reflects the severity of the crime and the pain inflicted on Rodriguez’s loved ones.

“Jonte Wunner is a violent, callous murderer that has no regard for the value of human life,” Conaty said in a statement. “He deliberately chose to steal a treasured life from our community, damaging the victim’s beloved family and terrorizing this community.”

Conaty added that he hopes the sentence “provides some closure” to Rodriguez’s family and ensures “this monster will serve the remainder of his natural life behind bars.”

Wunner has three prior felony convictions and four misdemeanor convictions, including a 2025 Albany County murder for which he was already serving 35 years to life.