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SANTA ANA (CNS) - A 29-year-old man pleaded guilty and was sentenced Friday to 15 years to life in prison for killing his girlfriend's 13-month-old son in a Santa Ana motel room.
Eduardo Centeno pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the Feb. 12, 2018 killing of Adrian Rodriguez, according to court records. As part of the plea deal, prosecutors dropped a count of assault on a child with force likely to produce death.
Centeno initially told police he and the boy were sleeping on a bed together in the Royal Roman Motel at 1504 E. First St. when the child fell and had a seizure, according to testimony from police in his preliminary hearing. He said he brought the child into the shower to rouse him, police said.
Adrian's mother woke up early that morning and realized she did not have enough to pay for the room, so she went to earn some money, police said. Two hours later, police were called to the room when the child was unresponsive.
Adrian's mother and the defendant had an on-again, off-again relationship. He was not the child's father.
Adrian sustained a fractured skull and brain bleeding, police said. The baby was taken to Children's Hospital Orange County, where he was placed on life support but died the following day.
Centeno was given 1,271 days credit for custody while awaiting trial.