Sitting at the dining-room table in her home, Aracely Palacio speaks on the memory of her late daughter Lesly, Tuesday Sept. 22, 2020. Lesly Palacio’s body was found in the desert near Valley of Fire State Park back on Sept. 9, 2020, after going missing for nearly 12 days.
Friday, Aug. 13, 2021 | 1:02 p.m.
Lesly Palacio
Jose Rangel was never going to be sentenced to more than two years in jail for helping dispose of the body of a woman his son is accused of killing.
Nevada law doesn’t allow it.
Rangel, 46, pleaded guilty in June to one count each of accessory to commit murder and destroying evidence, court logs show.
“I know … suffering the loss that you suffered, two years doesn’t seem like a sufficient punishment,” Clark County District Court Judge Tierra Jones told victim Lesly Palacio’s mother and sisters at a sentencing hearing this morning. “But where the court is sitting, my hands are tied.”
Jones went on to sentence Rangel to the maximum two years at the Clark County Detention Center, with credit for 205 days he has served after turning himself in to immigration authorities at the U.S-Mexico border.
His son, Erik Michel Rangel-Ibarra, who is facing a count of murder in the case, remains on the run following the slaying of 25-year-old Palacio a year ago.
Palacio, a longtime acquaintance of the Rangel family, was last seen alive in August 2020 when she went out with Rangel-Ibarra. Her remains were found Sept. 9 in the desert near the Valley of Fire State Park. The Clark County Coroner's Office said it couldn't determine the cause or manner of death.
Metro Police say Palacio died in a bedroom of the Rangel house. The father and son then dragged her body to a pickup truck, which the son used to take her body into the desert, police said.
The father stayed behind to try to clean up the crime scene, Clark County prosecutors said.
Jose Rangel turned himself in to authorities at the San Diego border on Jan. 19. His son’s whereabouts are unknown.
Rangel, who appeared in court via video, dropped his head as he asked for forgiveness through an interpreter, who read from a prepared statement.
Rangel said the events, which he called a tragedy, “destroyed two beautiful families” and that he was remorseful for not going to authorities right away.
His love as a father betrayed him, he said. “I recognize I failed and recognize my responsibility,” Rangel said.
The prosecutor noted the sentencing limitations and called on state lawmakers to fix the law to reflect such “egregious” crimes.
The victim’s mother, Aracely Palacio, said her daughter was “a good girl, a good daughter and she was a good sister.”
She said her daughter was only five months away from obtaining her degree as a phlebotomist. “I had a lot of faith in her,” she said. “My family and I always dreamt that she would be a professional, but her life was cut short.”
Aracely Rangel then directed her words to her deceased daughter. “Lesly, one year after your death, my life hasn’t been the same. They destroyed my life, Erik Rangel and Jose Rangel.”
“I feel like my life has no meaning without you,” she said, sobbing. “Lesly, nothing will ever be the same without you.”
