Yuma man pleads guilty in Circle K stabbing death, sentencing set for May 22

Angel Witrado has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the stabbing death of Justin Arviso outside a Circle K near 24th Street and Avenue B, ending the first-degree murder case without a trial and putting him on track for a presumptive 16-year prison sentence.

The plea resolved the charge that had followed Witrado since his booking in Yuma County on Oct. 24, 2024. Court and jail records had listed him on a first-degree murder count tied to the Oct. 6, 2024 offense date, with a total bond amount of $1,005,000. Now, the case moves directly to sentencing, scheduled for May 22 in Yuma County Superior Court.

Under the agreement, Witrado faces a sentencing range of 10 to 25 years in prison, with 16 years as the presumptive term. That is a significant outcome for a homicide case that had carried the highest murder charge and had been working through mental competency questions for months.

Those questions had already been litigated before the plea. Witrado previously underwent two competency evaluations after raising an insanity claim, and both times a doctor found him competent. A January report said he had failed a second insanity evaluation, and a later court update said his attorney asked for more time to review additional video evidence before the state indicated it would present a plea deal at the next hearing.

Arviso, 37, died after being stabbed outside the convenience store in Yuma. The guilty plea now gives the case a clearer path to final resolution and removes the uncertainty of a full trial, while still leaving Witrado facing more than a decade in prison. For Arviso’s family and for residents near the busy business corridor where the attack happened, the hearing next month will determine the final punishment in a case that has been under scrutiny in Yuma County Superior Court since the fall of 2024.