Lubbock Man Pleads Guilty to Murder; 45-Year Prison Sentence

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27-year-old Oscar Diaz Cerna of Lubbock has pleaded guilty to the murder of 30-year-old Jacob Wayne Duffee of Levelland, and was sentenced to 45 years in prison on Monday, June 7th.

KAMC News reports that Duffee was reported missing back on September 29th of 2017. His body wasn't found until October 31st of 2017. Duffee was located in a storm drain near 52nd Street and Magnolia Avenue.

When talking to police, Cerna admitted that Duffee was his boss and that he had an argument with him. Initially, Cerna just said that after the argument, Duffee left the apartment.

After searching the apartment and finding blood, officers obtained an arrest warrant for Cerna. He was then charged for murder.

A woman who had known Cerna for a long time also came forward and told police that Cerna had come to her house appearing shaken. Allegedly, Cerna told the woman that he had shot a man in the face about a month before he showed up at her house.

He said that he at first put the body in a bathtub, but then moved the body to a shallow grave with assistance from his father. Cerna's father, Oscar Pena Cerna, admitted to police to placing the body in the bed of his truck and hiding it in a water drainage hole north of 50th and Magnolia.

He also disposed of the bed liner of his truck and threw the gun used to shoot Duffee away in a lake. Cerna's father has been charged with tampering with evidence.