May 1—Joseph Jones — his face obscured by a mask and large glasses — was silent and impassive as a state district judge sentenced him to life in prison Monday for the 2018 shooting death of Robert Romero outside the Santa Fe businessman's home.

There were no words from Romero's family, either — a decision borne of "resilience" after a nearly five-year quest for justice, a prosecutor said.

"They're not going to waste another breath on Mr. Jones," Chief Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Padgett Macias told the court Monday. "Mr. Jones needs to know that their silence is strength. Their silence is resilience, and their silence speaks volumes as to the man Mr. Romero was. ... Mr. Romero's community will not give any more time, energy or attention to the man who already stole so much from them."

State District Court Judge T. Glenn Ellington pronounced the life sentence on the Santa Fe man after what prosecutors described at trial as a home burglary gone wrong. Jones was convicted of felony murder and aggravated burglary in February.

Romero, 52, was a married father of two daughters and chief financial officer for a local real estate firm who was well-known in the community.

He had been dozing on the couch of his home in the Las Casitas neighborhood in the wee hours of July 30, 2018, while his family slept upstairs. During the trial, prosecutor said Romero woke up and caught Jones — a serial burglar who also lived in the area — attempting to break into his home.

Romero's wife came downstairs to see her husband struggling with someone in the backyard and told their daughter to call 911. But Jones shot Romero and fled before police arrived.

Padgett Macias told the court Monday that Jones' behavior that night was not an isolated event, noting the defendant, now 29, grew up nearby "with a misguided belief that other people's belongings were his and that he somehow had a right or an entitlement to things that other people owned."

He'd been caught with stolen electronics and firearms in the past, she said, and had pleaded guilty in 2016 to receiving stolen property.

A search of his residence turned up a firearm that had been reported stolen in 2017, 28 fully loaded magazines, a tactical light, speed loaders, aftermarket gun barrels, 25 flashlights, 18 gloves, three sets of binoculars, numerous small tools and a notebook containing a list of names and addresses.

His computer's browser history contained evidence of searches about how to avoid getting caught by police, Padgett Macias said, and showed he'd spent time perusing a manual called An Ex-Cop's Guide to Not Getting Arrested.

"Mr. Jones is the most dangerous type of criminal," Padgett Macias said. "He crept, and no matter what, in his belief, he did not think he was going to get caught. And he equipped himself so that he wouldn't."

He almost didn't.

Santa Fe police investigators initially had no suspect, motive or leads, and the case went unsolved for nearly two years before Jones' arrest.

Police tested DNA on a pair of glasses and a small flashlight found at the scene, but the DNA profile did not match any in a national database maintained by the FBI.

Detectives then sought the help of a company that used technology developed by the medical industry to create a genetic profile from the DNA left at the scene. The company compared the profile with those on a public database, searching for individuals who might share similar genetics — the way someone might search for a long-lost relative, according to a statement released by the Santa Fe Police Department at the time.

The DNA helped police narrow potential suspects down to three individuals, prosecutors said during the trial: Jones, his brother and a cousin.

"Science caught Mr. Jones, but his own arrogance in thinking that he got away with murder is what ultimately convicted him," Padgett Macias said, also crediting Santa Fe police Capt. Bryan Martinez's investigative skills.

Ellington said Monday the Public Defender's Office has indicated it intends to appeal Jones' conviction.

Public defender Craig Hay — who handled Monday's sentencing in place of recently retired public defender Sydney West, who represented Jones at the trial — said he couldn't comment on the grounds for the appeal. However, he said, it should be filed soon.