A Bexar County jury found Marco Antonio Moreno Vasquez guilty of murder. On Tuesday, a judge gave him 40 years in prison. The case started with a fight over money back in 2023.

Vasquez was 34 when deputies first arrested him. He now faces four decades behind bars. The judge also gave him 6 more years. That was for a charge called deadly conduct. It means he put other people in danger during the shooting. He will serve both sentences at the same time. The 40-year term is the one that counts most.

This case matters because of what deputies found. Vasquez had hidden the murder weapon in his own kitchen. He tucked the gun inside his fridge. He hid it among his food. Deputies still found it.

The shooting happened on February 16, 2023. It was in northeast Bexar County. That is on the edge of San Antonio. Prosecutors say Vasquez and another man, Adis Hernandez-Rivas, confronted a 32-year-old man over money. The confrontation turned into a shooting.

The man was shot. He died right there at the scene.

Cameras near the shooting caught it all on video. The video also showed the license plate on the getaway car. Deputies in nearby Atascosa County stopped that same car days later. Vasquez was riding inside. He went into custody without a fight.

Deputies later searched Vasquez's home. Inside, they found the gun. It was hidden in his fridge, tucked among the food. Crime lab workers tested four shell casings. The casings came from the crime scene. They matched that same gun.

A Bexar County jury heard all the proof at trial. Jurors found Vasquez guilty of murder. The trial was held in the 187th Criminal District Court.

Hernandez-Rivas is the second man charged in the case. He took a plea deal. He did not go to trial. He has not been sentenced yet. His sentencing is expected soon. El Tejano will follow up when that happens.

Texas law is generally strict on murder sentences like this one. People convicted of murder often must serve a large part of their term before they can even ask for parole. That could keep Vasquez locked up for decades.

Vasquez is now headed to a Texas state prison. He will start serving his sentence there. This case is a reminder for South Texas families. Courts here are still working through violent crimes tied to money fights. It also shows that hiding evidence does not always work. Deputies checked the one place many people would not think to look. Inside a fridge, next to the food, they found what they needed. That evidence helped close the case for good.

Bexar County is home to San Antonio. A fight over cash turned deadly. One man is dead. Another man will spend the next 40 years in prison. The second man charged is still waiting on his own day in court.

El Tejano checked for earlier coverage on this case. No past story on Vasquez or Hernandez-Rivas turned up on our site. This is the first time El Tejano has reported on either man.

Deputies did not say why Vasquez picked his fridge to hide the gun. Investigators simply searched his home and found it. That search, plus the video and the shell casings, built the case against him at trial.

In this case, jurors decided guilt first, after hearing the evidence at trial. The judge then set the punishment at 40 years.