Contra Costa County judge shows no leniency to man convicted of killing two girls in 2018 crash

Noe Saucedo, 29, saw his potential prison term effectively reduced by only a few years after a judge imposed the stiffest possible sentence against him.

A man accused of killing two young girls while driving a stolen truck received no leniency Friday from a Contra Costa County judge, who had been tasked with reconsidering his sentence after an appellate court tossed one of the man’s five convictions.

Noe Saucedo, 29, saw his potential prison term effectively reduced by only a few years after Judge Rebecca Hardie imposed the stiffest possible remaining sentence against him during an emotional and tear-filled hearing inside a Pittsburg courthouse.

Calling the case “profoundly disturbing and sad,” Hardie said she saw few — if any — mitigating factors suggesting Saucedo should walk free anytime soon. She also expressed regret that that she couldn’t do more to help ease the enduring pain felt by the girls’ parents.

“These little girls will never go to school, have a wedding, find love — and that’s not going to change today,” Hardie said.

During the hearing, the girls’ father, Jesus Cardoza, choked back tears while recalling the searing pain of having spent more than five years without his two children.

“The only thing I only ask, your honor, is for us to get justice for my daughters,” Cardoza said. “I know his intentions were not to kill them, but his actions did. Our lives have never been the same.” He later expressed relief that the judge imposed the stiffest-possible sentence, adding that “she tried to do the max that she could.”

A jury in 2019 convicted Saucedo of two counts of second-degree murder in the crash that killed 4-year-old Lenexy Cardoza, and her 2-year-old sister, Camila. At the time, authorities said Saucedo was driving a stolen truck around Bay Point in January 2018 when a deputy pulled up behind him and began following him for miles on Highway 4, waiting for backup.

When Saucedo pulled off on the Somersville Road exit, the deputy activated his lights. Within seconds, Saucedo sped through a red light at 50 to 70 miles per hour — T-boning a car containing the girls and their mother, killing both children.

Authorities later found methamphetamine in Saucedo’s system. During his trial, the defense argued he wasn’t trying to evade the deputy, and that he had lost control of the truck.

Saucedo’s original sentence included a prison term of 15 years to life for the two second-degree murder charges, as well as a term of 7 years, 8 months for the charges of evading officers and stealing the truck. A California appellate court, however, subsequently tossed the conviction for evading officers — forcing another Contra Costa County judge to reconsider Saucedo’s sentence.

Hardie noted she couldn’t alter the sentences for murder — only the two lesser charges. As a result, she sentenced Saucedo to three years in prison for the stolen vehicle charge, while also imposing a consecutive one-year term for the methamphetamine-related charge. Both those terms must be served on top of his lingering murder sentences.

Saucedo appeared in court from a state prison via video conference, wearing a light blue prison uniform. He was given no microphone to speak, and spent nearly the entire hearing seated, still, with his head bowed.

Saucedo’s attorney, Tim Ahearn, declined to comment after the hearing. He said during the hearing that his client did not wish to make a statement to the judge.