A man was convicted by jury Tuesday of two counts of first-degree homicide, one count of reckless burning or exploding, two counts of abuse of corpse, and one count of tampering with or fabricating physical evidence following a weeklong trial in Lancaster County Court.

Ezequiel Almodovar, 38 of the 1500 block of Hunsecker Road, now faces a mandatory life sentence without parole for killing Jonathan Rivera and Eugenio Morales-Torres at his home then moving and burning their bodies in a truck bed on a farm lane in Manor Township.

“[Almodovar] shot these men six times, Eugenio four times and Jonathan twice,” Assistant District Attorney Benjamin Baker said during his opening statement. “The defendant shot each of them once in the back of the head. He then loaded their bodies into the bed of Eugenio’s truck, drove it to a secluded farm lane, and burned the truck and their bodies beyond recognition.”

Assistant District Christopher Miller echoed that exact statement to begin his closing argument before saying, “[Baker and I] are acting as the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania speaking for two people who can’t speak for themselves because the defendant took their ability away.”

ADAs Baker and Miller presented evidence and testimony to the jury that on July 27, 2020, around 11:50 p.m., East Lampeter Township Police received a call regarding Rivera and Morales-Torres having gone missing, neither being seen or heard from since 7:00 p.m. and their phones going directly to voicemail.

The caller also reported the victims went to visit a friend named “Zeke,” which Almodovar was known to go by. The witness stated she went to Zeke’s house and observed him standing in the driveway with blood on his shirt and Morales-Torres’ Ford F-150 parked in the driveway.

On July 28, 2020, around 6:40 a.m., Manor Township Police Department responded to a burned pick-up truck on Charlestown Road, Manor Township, and discovered charred human remains of two individuals in the bed of the truck. The vehicle was identified by VIN as belonging to Morales-Torres.

The Lancaster County Coroner’s Office identified the individuals to be Rivera and Morales-Torres and determined the cause of death to be gunshot wounds to the body and the manner to be homicide. Both victims were shot in the back.

“If he treated [the victims] like that in death, what makes you think he treated them any differently in life?” Miller asked the jury.

Further evidence presented by the Commonwealth included Almodovar’s neighbors hearing multiple gunshots at the time of the shooting, firearm shell casings found on his driveway, and a bag of blood found in his garage.

Defense counsel argued self-defense, stating the victims showed up at Almodovar’s house to rob him because they knew he was a drug dealer and would have money/drugs at his home.

Miller responded in his closing argument saying the defendant’s testimony during trial wasn’t credible because he concealed evidence immediately by burning the bodies and cell phones, destroying home surveillance footage, and trying to create an alibi.

“The defendant is the type of person to immediately mislead you,” Miller said to the jury. “Now three years later he wants to tell you the truth?”

The jury returned its verdict in roughly two hours around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Lancaster County President Judge David Ashworth remanded Almodovar to Lancaster County Prison awaiting sentencing, which will occur at a time and date to be determined.

East Lampeter Township Police Detective Scott Eelman filed charges, testified, and attended the entirety of trial. Pennsylvania State Police, Manor Township Police, and Lancaster County Detectives assisted in the investigation.

MEDIA CONTACT: Sean McBryan, semcbryan@co.lancaster.pa.us; Twitter: @SeanMcBryanLanc.